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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. squash — to crush
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. scale — in music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cell — a phone
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — of a plant
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. scale — size or range
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. root — of a word
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. root — the cause
  21. chest — a box
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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