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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. current — electric
  3. club — a group
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. club — for golf
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fall — the season
  9. swing — in golf
  10. current — happening now
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. swing — to play on
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. swing — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. current — of water
  19. stem — to come from
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. club — for dancing
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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