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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. press — to push
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. face — to confront
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. game — a match
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. dip — to sink
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. march — music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. march — the month
  21. press — a publisher
  22. march — the month
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fan — a supporter

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