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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 · nail · cold · wave · pass · fall · last · rush

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. last — to go on
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fall — the season
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. last — finally
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pass — a permit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — final
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rush — hurry

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