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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · ruler · hand · ground · spell · cold · mate · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. spell — letters
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hand — help
  5. ground — a position
  6. mate — a friend
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — magic
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mate — to breed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mate — a partner
  24. ruler — a monarch

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