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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 116 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 · fan · spring · rule · mark · lie · wind · pop

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. lie — to recline
  4. rule — government
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. rule — a law
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. pop — soda
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mark — a grade
  22. clip — a video
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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