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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. fall — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. craft — boats
  11. fork — in a road
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. craft — a skill
  15. face — part of the head
  16. shower — rain
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spring — the season
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. spring — of water

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