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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: land · lean · cold · dip · can · bore · fan · root

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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. lean — thin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. land — to come down
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — not warm
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. land — ground
  11. root — the cause
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. root — of a word
  16. land — a country
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. can — a tin
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bore — to tire
  24. dip — a sauce

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