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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 water is too ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. craft — a skill
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. snap — to click
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cold — an illness
  23. craft — boats
  24. cabinet — ministers

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