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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · cold · coach · plane · land · prune · cue · tear

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tear — to rip
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cue — for pool
  9. land — a country
  10. tear — from crying
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. land — to come down
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — ground
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cold — an illness
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. cold — the Cold War

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