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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stem — to come from
  10. drill — a practice
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. drill — army training
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. calf — a young animal

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