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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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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: tear · staff · bat · fan · fall · rule · spell · deal

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. tear — to rip
  3. staff — employees
  4. spell — letters
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rule — government
  11. spell — magic
  12. tear — from crying
  13. deal — to handle
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fall — the season
  16. staff — employees
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rule — a law
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bat — for baseball

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