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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 116 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 · march · spring · staff · mine · dip · deal · rule

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spring — the season
  3. dip — to sink
  4. spring — a coil
  5. deal — to handle
  6. staff — a stick
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. mine — for digging
  9. spring — of water
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. staff — employees
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. staff — employees
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. march — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rule — government

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