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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. face — to point toward
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cold — not warm
  15. snap — to click
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. face — to confront
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mark — a trace
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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