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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · calf · fan · cap · rash · bat · snap · season

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to click
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — of the year
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. cap — a hat
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cap — of ice
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. clip — a video
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fan — a supporter

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