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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: lean · bowl · drill · chest · prune · wake · saw · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. lean — thin
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chest — a box
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wake — a trail
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. prune — to trim
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bowl — a football final

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