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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: staff · ground · fan · nail · spell · fall · cold · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. fall — the season
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — to drop
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cold — not warm
  16. staff — employees
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spell — a short time
  19. ground — crushed
  20. staff — employees
  21. season — in sport
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. nail — for a hammer

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