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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fall — the season
  5. fine — all right
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hand — help
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — in music
  14. hand — in cards
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fine — high quality
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. pass — to succeed

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