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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. club — a group
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — for golf
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. snap — to click
  12. branch — a division
  13. row — a line
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. clip — for paper
  17. club — for dancing
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. clip — a video
  24. branch — of a bank

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