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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 · perch · saw · fall · hand · pit · lie · spring

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. spring — of water
  4. hand — help
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. perch — the fish
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pit — a hole
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. saw — the tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fall — to drop
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. pit — in a race
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fall — the season

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