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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. hand — in cards
  4. row — a line
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. march — the month
  8. object — to protest
  9. band — a ring
  10. stem — to come from
  11. band — a music group
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — to paddle
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. hide — to keep secret

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