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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — of a plant
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cell — a phone
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — the season
  8. bound — obliged
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bound — certain
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. root — the cause
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. spring — of water
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lean — thin
  22. clip — a video
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cell — in biology

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