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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: bass · plane · hand · object · lie · fan · rule · field

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bass — low music
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — to recline
  5. field — a subject
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. object — an aim
  9. hand — help
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. object — a thing
  13. bass — the fish
  14. object — to protest
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rule — government
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. field — farmland
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bass — the instrument

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