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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · fan · squash · cell · stem · net · charge · wind

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. net — after costs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. charge — electricity
  12. game — a match
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wind — moving air
  15. charge — a price
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. net — in sport
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. net — for catching
  23. charge — in control
  24. stem — of a plant

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