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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: rest · date · mouse · spring · fan · prune · sharp · fall

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spring — of water
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rest — what's left
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rest — a break
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fall — the season
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mouse — for a computer

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