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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. row — a line
  3. band — a ring
  4. suit — clothes
  5. club — a group
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. suit — to fit
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. club — for golf
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. row — to paddle
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stem — to come from

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