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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. band — a music group
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. net — after costs
  8. ball — a dance
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. current — electric
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. current — happening now
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. net — in sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. capital — a city
  20. ball — a great time
  21. capital — money
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. net — for catching
  24. current — of water

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