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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. shower — rain
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. band — a music group
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — for digging
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — to wash
  17. band — a ring
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. board — a committee
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. board — to get on
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stem — to come from

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