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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. court — of law
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a grade
  11. tear — to rip
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rush — hurry
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — of a king
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mark — to pay attention

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