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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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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: craft · cold · wake · stem · kick · trunk · toast · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. stem — to come from
  5. toast — bread
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — boats
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wake — a trail
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. kick — in football
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — an illness
  24. toast — the most admired

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