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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. fine — a penalty
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. fine — all right
  5. cue — for pool
  6. plane — a tool
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. shower — rain
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chest — of your body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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