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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 · lean · hand · craft · pound · spring · rush · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spring — of water
  6. hand — help
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. craft — boats
  13. rush — hurry
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spring — a coil
  16. lean — thin
  17. spring — the season
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. lean — to bend
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pound — a weight

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