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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 116 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: cell · mark · lie · bear · fan · ball · spring · hand

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. spring — of water
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bear — the animal
  9. ball — a great time
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bear — the animal
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. spring — the season
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cell — a phone
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ball — a round shape

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