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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — for sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. court — of law
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cue — a hint
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cue — for pool
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fork — to eat with

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