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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: craft · roll · foot · chair · fall · fan · cold · root

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. roll — a cake
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. root — of a plant
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. root — the cause
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fall — the season
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. root — of a word
  20. craft — boats
  21. foot — a measure
  22. roll — a list
  23. chair — a leader
  24. foot — the bottom

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