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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. mate — to breed
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. face — to confront
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. face — part of the head
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mate — a partner
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. degree — from a university
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — temperature

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