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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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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bound — certain
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. stem — to come from
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. sharp — clever
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mouse — the 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