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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · fan · toast · saw · rule · rush · kid · chest

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. toast — bread
  3. rule — a law
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chest — a box
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rule — government
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. kid — child
  14. saw — the tool
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fan — a supporter

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