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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. shower — rain
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. craft — boats
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. craft — a skill
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. spring — the season
  14. chip — for betting
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chip — to eat
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chip — in a computer

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