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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: fall · fan · snap · spring · rule · fine · staff · mate

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. snap — to click
  6. staff — a stick
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mate — a friend
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rule — government
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fine — all right
  14. spring — of water
  15. mate — to breed
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fall — the season
  20. spring — the season
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. rule — a law
  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