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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. stem — to come from
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. march — music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ground — a position
  15. chip — to eat
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — of a plant

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