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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: fan · cell · row · mine · fall · rush · hide · hand

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fall — the season
  5. mine — for digging
  6. hand — help
  7. cell — in biology
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a line
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rush — hurry
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. mine — belonging to me

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