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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bound — obliged
  5. file — a document
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pop — music
  9. bound — tied together
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. stem — to come from
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bound — certain
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pop — soda
  18. season — in sport
  19. file — a tool
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. season — of the year
  23. scale — in music
  24. stem — a stem cell

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