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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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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: mine · cue · coach · fan · wind · rush · ground · stem

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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 — a stem cell
  3. rush — hurry
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cue — a signal
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ground — a position
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cue — for pool
  22. stem — to come from
  23. coach — a trainer
  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