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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: fan · mug · clip · net · lean · perch · snap · spring

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lean — thin
  3. snap — to click
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spring — the season
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. net — in sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. net — for catching
  13. clip — to cut
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mug — a cup
  19. net — after costs
  20. spring — of water
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. spring — a coil
  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