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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: field · cold · stem · shower · mouse · clip · chair · fan

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — rain
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chair — a leader
  14. field — farmland
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. field — a subject
  20. clip — to cut
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fan — a supporter

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