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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. field — for sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. field — farmland
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — final
  11. perch — the fish
  12. field — a subject
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. last — to go on
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — finally
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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