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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 120 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: leaves · pound · cell · fall · rule · wave · hand · fan

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — help
  6. fall — the season
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — a phone
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — government
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fall — to drop

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