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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: fan · kid · chest · roll · stem · court · pop · wave

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. court — for sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pop — music
  8. chest — a box
  9. kid — to tease
  10. court — of a king
  11. kid — child
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. roll — a cake
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. roll — a list
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pop — soda
  19. stem — to come from
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pop — to visit
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. court — of law
  24. wave — of the sea

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