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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: hand · saw · fan · bore · pop · rash · mate · spring

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rash — a series
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rash — hasty
  9. pop — to visit
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spring — of water
  16. hand — help
  17. bore — to drill
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. saw — the tool

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