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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: fan · fall · clip · firm · band · mine · leaves · bore

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. firm — decided
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. fall — the season
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bore — to drill
  7. firm — a company
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — for digging
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. firm — steady
  12. band — a ring
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — to tire

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