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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. march — the month
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. march — music
  8. kid — child
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. march — the month
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stem — to come from
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bass — low music
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bass — 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