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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: present · foot · bay · pitcher · cell · clip · fan · tear

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. clip — a video
  4. cell — a phone
  5. tear — from crying
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — the time now
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. cell — in biology
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tear — to rip
  16. foot — a measure
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. present — there
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — to cut

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