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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: fall · present · squash · plane · cold · mark · fan · lean

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. present — the time now
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cold — an illness
  6. present — there
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mark — a trace
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. mark — a grade
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. present — a gift
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fall — the season
  24. lean — thin

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