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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chest — of your body
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. chest — of your body
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — a gift
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. chest — a box
  18. bore — to drill
  19. present — the time now
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. present — there
  22. bore — to tire
  23. key — the most important part
  24. row — a line

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