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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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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 · mate · bowl · tear · toast · wind · lash · clip

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mate — a partner
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. toast — bread
  12. mate — to breed
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mate — a friend
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — to cut

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