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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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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: fan · net · leaves · stem · content · fall · mate · kid

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. content — happy
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. stem — to come from
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fall — to drop
  9. net — after costs
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mate — a partner
  14. net — for catching
  15. content — the amount
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. net — in sport
  24. kid — child

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