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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: court · stem · wave · saw · rash · fan · hand · tube

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hand — help
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tube — a container
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hand — in cards
  15. court — for sport
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. saw — the tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. rash — a series
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fan — a supporter

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