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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 · snap · lie · roll · field · season · wake · rule

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. roll — a list
  5. snap — to click
  6. season — in sport
  7. lie — to recline
  8. field — a subject
  9. rule — government
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a cake
  19. season — of the year
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. wake — a trail

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