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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: nail · fall · season · bat · fan · wound · last · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. season — of the year
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. season — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — a face
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. last — finally
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mug — a cup
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. fan — to cool the air

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