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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 116 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: wound · fall · current · hand · fan · pit · rest · game

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — of water
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. fall — to drop
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rest — a break
  10. current — electric
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. current — happening now
  17. pit — in a race
  18. hand — help
  19. fall — the season
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fan — a supporter
  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