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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · leaves · clip · content · coach · rash · mine · foot

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — to cut
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. foot — a measure
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. mine — for digging
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. clip — a video

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