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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: clip · deal · mate · rush · race · fan · ball · bore

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mate — a friend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. clip — a video
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rush — hurry
  11. deal — to handle
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bore — to drill
  17. race — humankind
  18. ball — a great time
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mate — to breed
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. race — a contest

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