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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cap — of ice
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kick — in football
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chest — a box
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wax — for sculpting

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