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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. drill — a practice
  3. plane — a tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pop — to visit
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. drill — army training
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. drill — the tool

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