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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pound — a weight
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. shower — rain
  11. snap — to click
  12. cell — in biology
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. shower — to wash
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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