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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. plane — a tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spell — letters
  5. fall — the season
  6. cue — for pool
  7. spring — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cue — a signal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spell — magic
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cue — a hint
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fork — a garden tool

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