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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rash — hasty
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rash — a series
  10. drill — army training
  11. staff — a stick
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. key — in music
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. face — to point toward
  17. staff — employees
  18. field — for sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. dip — to sink
  23. field — farmland
  24. face — to confront

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