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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: fan · board · cold · toast · foot · mouse · press · stem

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. press — a publisher
  5. board — to get on
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cold — an illness
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. foot — a measure
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. press — to push
  17. board — a committee
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cold — not warm

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