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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. object — a thing
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. row — a line
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. face — to confront
  10. content — happy
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. swing — music
  18. object — to protest
  19. row — to paddle
  20. face — part of the head
  21. content — the amount
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. object — an aim
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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