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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: bore · squash · clip · deal · lean · fan · march · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — to bend
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. march — the month
  9. deal — to handle
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. march — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bore — to drill
  14. squash — to crush
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. bore — to tire
  19. lean — thin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. fan — to cool the 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