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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. drill — the tool
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. drill — army training
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rule — government
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bat — the animal
  16. swing — music
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rule — a law
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. drill — a practice
  24. swing — in golf

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