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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: fall · root · lie · pop · fan · spring · cold · rush

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cold — an illness
  3. root — of a plant
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spring — the season
  6. pop — to visit
  7. root — the cause
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. spring — of water
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pop — music
  14. root — of a word
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fall — the season
  17. rush — hurry
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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