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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. band — a ring
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. band — a music group
  9. fine — all right
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pound — a weight
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fork — in a road
  18. degree — temperature
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pound — for dogs

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