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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rest — a break
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. file — a tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. capital — a city
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. ruler — for measuring

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