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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: capital · fan · hand · plane · mouse · tear · season · rule

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rule — government
  14. tear — to rip
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. capital — a city
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — help
  20. season — in sport
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. capital — money
  24. plane — a tool

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