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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 120 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 · bear · content · calf · fan · perch · current · mine

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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. calf — a young animal
  4. current — electric
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. clip — a video
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — for paper
  12. current — of water
  13. clip — to cut
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. current — happening now
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. content — the amount
  24. bear — the animal

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