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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spring — of water
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cap — of ice
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — a coil
  11. dip — to sink
  12. club — for golf
  13. rush — hurry
  14. spring — the season
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. clip — a video
  18. cap — a hat
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cap — a lid
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. club — a group

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