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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spring — the season
  6. rest — what's left
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rest — a break
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rest — what's left
  13. face — to confront
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. spring — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mark — a trace

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