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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: fan · bat · rash · wake · wind · plane · spell · season

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. spell — a short time
  5. season — of the year
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spell — letters
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. rash — hasty
  14. season — in sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rash — a series
  19. spell — magic
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. plane — a 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