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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: snap · bay · shower · cap · hide · clip · fan · saw

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to click
  3. saw — the tool
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cap — a lid
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. clip — a video
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. shower — rain
  21. cap — of ice
  22. clip — to cut
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bay — a horse colour

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