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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. band — a music group
  4. face — part of the head
  5. band — a ring
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. face — to confront
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. present — the time now
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — a phone
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. present — there
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cell — in biology

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