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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — finally
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — to go on
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fine — all right
  7. perch — the fish
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. last — final
  12. rest — a break
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bound — certain
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. perch — for a bird

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