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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: bore · band · craft · deal · cold · fan · clip · rush

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bore — to drill
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. clip — a video
  13. band — a ring
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. band — a music group
  16. cold — an illness
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bore — to tire
  19. clip — for paper
  20. deal — to handle
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rush — hurry

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