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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — final
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. root — of a word
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. last — finally
  11. root — of a plant
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. root — the cause
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pass — a permit
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — the season
  21. last — to go on
  22. court — for sport
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — to succeed

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