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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: fan · jam · rule · bat · wave · bark · fall · root

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. root — the cause
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government
  19. bat — the animal
  20. root — of a plant
  21. fall — the season
  22. root — of a word
  23. bark — to shout
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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