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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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. stem — to come from
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. net — after costs
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. spell — magic
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. rush — hurry
  19. spell — letters
  20. net — for catching
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. net — in sport

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