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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: wake · date · fan · stem · mine · bore · tube · scale

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bore — to tire
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. stem — to come from
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. wake — a trail
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mine — for digging
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. scale — in music
  24. stem — a stem cell

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