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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: roll · dip · net · shower · clip · fan · pop · last

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — to cut
  3. net — for catching
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pop — music
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. shower — rain
  9. last — final
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. roll — a list
  13. clip — a video
  14. pop — soda
  15. last — to go on
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. roll — a cake
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. net — after costs
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pop — to visit
  23. last — finally
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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