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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hand — in cards
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. perch — the fish
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chair — a leader
  10. lie — to recline
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. hand — help
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. face — part of the head
  17. game — a match
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. game — wild animals
  22. branch — a division
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. perch — for a bird

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