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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: bass · board · lean · hand · mark · rule · fan · cold

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bass — low music
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bass — the fish
  8. board — a committee
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hand — help
  15. lean — to bend
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. board — to get on
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mark — a grade
  22. lean — thin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mark — to pay attention

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