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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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 — a supporter
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spring — of water
  4. bound — tied together
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bore — to tire
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bound — certain
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stem — to come from
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. spring — the season
  21. club — a group
  22. spring — a coil
  23. clip — a video
  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