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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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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: hand · cell · wind · club · fan · fork · rest · pit

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hand — help
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. club — for golf
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cell — a phone
  17. club — a group
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rest — a break
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rest — what's left

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