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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.

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: fan · root · wave · cold · tear · bound · wound · court

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. root — the cause
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bound — certain
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tear — from crying
  10. root — of a plant
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. root — of a word
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bound — obliged
  24. wound — an injury

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