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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mate — a friend
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. row — to paddle
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. track — a path
  11. clip — a video
  12. deal — to handle
  13. net — after costs
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. clip — for paper
  17. track — a song
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. mate — a partner
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mate — to breed
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. track — to keep track

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com