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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — part of the head
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. face — to point toward
  18. key — in music
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bore — to tire
  21. row — a line
  22. rash — hasty
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. row — to paddle

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