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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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 — a supporter
  2. bass — the fish
  3. march — the month
  4. lean — to bend
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. stem — to come from
  8. last — final
  9. lean — thin
  10. march — the month
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bass — low music
  17. last — to go on
  18. march — music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. last — finally
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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