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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. can — a tin
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. can — a tin
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. march — the month
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. prune — to trim
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. can — to be able to
  24. stem — a stem cell

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