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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. stem — to come from
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. pop — soda
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pop — music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. perch — the fish

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