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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: fork · ground · leaves · fan · lean · wake · land · spell

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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 — a supporter
  2. land — to come down
  3. ground — a position
  4. spell — a short time
  5. land — ground
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spell — magic
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wake — a trail
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spell — letters
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. land — a country
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ground — crushed
  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