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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. shower — rain
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cue — for pool
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. court — of a king
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cue — a hint
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cue — a signal
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — for sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. court — of law
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kick — in football

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