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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — to wash
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a plant
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fall — the season
  14. land — a country
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — ground
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fall — to drop
  23. land — to come down
  24. root — of a word

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