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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bass — low music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. land — a country
  6. bass — the fish
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pop — soda
  11. land — to come down
  12. pop — music
  13. stem — to come from
  14. lean — thin
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. scale — in music
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. land — ground
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. scale — size or range

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