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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. stem — to come from
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. tube — the underground
  6. march — the month
  7. board — to get on
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. object — to protest
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. object — a thing
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. board — a committee
  19. object — an aim
  20. tube — a container
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fan — to cool the air

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