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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. march — music
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. root — of a word
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. can — a tin
  12. root — the cause
  13. wind — moving air
  14. can — a tin
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. can — to be able to
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bat — the animal
  23. root — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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