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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 · patient · trunk · bat · fan · bulb · object · kick

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bulb — for light
  12. object — a thing
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kick — in football
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bulb — for light
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — an aim
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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