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

Word bank: root · squash · fan · kick · cabinet · lie · cell · chest

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — in football
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cell — a phone
  7. root — of a plant
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. lie — to recline
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. chest — of your body
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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