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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: firm · race · fan · lean · root · court · wind · date

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — of a word
  7. court — of law
  8. lean — to bend
  9. race — a contest
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. firm — decided
  14. lean — thin
  15. race — humankind
  16. root — the cause
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. root — of a plant
  20. firm — steady
  21. date — the fruit
  22. firm — a company
  23. wind — moving air
  24. date — on the calendar

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