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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — a match
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. game — wild animals
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. lean — thin
  18. stem — to come from
  19. lean — to bend
  20. club — for golf
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. lean — to rest against

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