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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: bear · rush · spring · pit · fan · hand · spell · chest

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pit — a hole
  17. spell — letters
  18. spring — of water
  19. hand — in cards
  20. spring — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. hand — help
  24. pit — in a race

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