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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 120 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
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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: wound · spring · bass · fine · fall · land · arm · rule

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. land — to come down
  3. fine — high quality
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bass — low music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. spring — the season
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fine — all right
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. land — ground
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. spring — of water
  21. land — a country
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wound — an injury

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