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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. present — a gift
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. rush — hurry
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — steady
  8. present — there
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. march — the month
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. firm — decided
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. present — the time now
  18. march — music
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fan — a supporter

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