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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — an illness
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chair — a leader
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. land — a country
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. land — ground
  24. fan — a supporter

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