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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: file · hand · fall · stem · wind · arm · fan · lie

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — in cards
  3. file — a line of people
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. lie — to recline
  13. fall — the season
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. file — a tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a document
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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