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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stem — to come from
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. stock — goods
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. craft — a skill
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stock — shares
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. root — of a plant
  20. craft — boats
  21. root — of a word
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stem — a stem cell

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