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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. squash — to crush
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fork — in a road
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. root — 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