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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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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. band — a music group
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ball — a dance
  7. face — to confront
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. band — a ring
  13. file — a line of people
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. band — a rubber band

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