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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. face — to confront
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. band — a ring
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. plane — a tool
  15. face — to point toward
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. face — part of the head
  24. band — a music group

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