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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · spring · chair · pound · pit · nail · cold · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pit — a hole
  5. spring — the season
  6. rash — hasty
  7. spring — of water
  8. rash — a series
  9. cold — not warm
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pit — in a race
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — to cool the air

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