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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 124 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rash — hasty
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. hand — help
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. file — a document
  19. bulb — for light
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hand — in cards
  24. rash — a series

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