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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: clip · shower · net · mouse · ground · stand · wake · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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. shower — rain
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. ground — a position
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. net — after costs
  15. stand — to bear
  16. ground — crushed
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. net — for catching
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — in sport
  23. wake — a trail
  24. shower — to wash

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