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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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. mate — a partner
  4. current — of water
  5. mate — a friend
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. current — happening now
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cell — a phone
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cell — in biology
  18. current — electric
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. dip — to sink

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