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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rock — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kid — child
  13. track — a song
  14. rock — a stone
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bound — tied together
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. kid — to tease

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