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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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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: clip · fan · bowl · swing · kid · bear · bat · plane

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. swing — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bear — the animal
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bat — the animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. plane — a tool
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. kid — child
  21. clip — a video
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bear — to put up with

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