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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: cabinet · tear · season · fall · hand · mine · rule · fan

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fall — the season
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hand — help
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rule — a law
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. season — of the year
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — in sport

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