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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: squash · present · hide · hand · rest · sharp · fan · clip

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rest — what's left
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. present — a gift
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. present — the time now
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — there
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hand — in cards
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. clip — to cut
  19. sharp — clever
  20. clip — for paper
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hide — animal skin

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