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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. last — finally
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kick — in football
  5. face — part of the head
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. land — ground
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. land — a country
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. land — to come down
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. last — to go on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. last — final
  23. face — to point toward
  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