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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mug · lean · stem · tube · track · cold · fan · court

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. court — of law
  3. lean — to bend
  4. track — a path
  5. court — of a king
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lean — thin
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mug — to rob
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. track — a song
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. court — for sport
  21. tube — a container
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. track — to keep track

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