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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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Word bank
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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: tube · wake · season · clip · last · wind · row · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tube — a container
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. clip — a video
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. last — to go on
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. season — in sport
  17. last — finally
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. row — a line
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. last — final
  24. wind — moving air

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