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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: firm · prune · mark · fall · rule · game · bat · fan

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. mark — a trace
  3. fall — to drop
  4. game — wild animals
  5. firm — a company
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fall — to drop
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — a law
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fall — the season
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rule — government
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. firm — decided

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