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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bank — for money
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. scale — in music
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. clip — a video
  23. rush — hurry
  24. bat — the animal

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