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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. saw — the tool
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. toast — bread
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. face — part of the head
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. kid — child
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. toast — the most admired

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