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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: deal · fall · fine · root · leaves · fan · cold · prune

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fine — high quality
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. root — the cause
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. root — of a plant
  11. fine — all right
  12. root — of a word
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. deal — to handle

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