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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · fan · can · pit · clip · cold · ruler · hide

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pit — a hole
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. can — a tin
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — animal skin

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