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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — a phone
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. hand — help
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. field — farmland
  17. charge — in control
  18. field — for sport
  19. charge — electricity
  20. field — a subject
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. charge — a price
  24. cell — in biology

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