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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: leaves · land · fork · squash · cell · chest · fan · pass

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — a permit
  17. land — to come down
  18. chest — of your body
  19. land — a country
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. land — ground
  24. fork — in a road

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