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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: wake · straw · rest · rash · season · sharp · fan · fall

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. rash — a series
  7. rest — a break
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fall — to drop
  17. season — of the year
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rest — what's left
  20. season — in sport
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. fall — the season

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