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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: rash · chip · wound · fan · mate · fall · cold · nail

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in 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. chip — to eat
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rash — a series
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rash — hasty
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fall — the season

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