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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. foot — a measure
  16. root — the cause
  17. mug — a face
  18. root — of a plant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. shower — to wash
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. root — of a word
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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