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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: arm · nail · hide · spring · fan · rule · tear · cold

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. spring — the season
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rule — a law
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — of water
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. cold — not warm

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