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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. face — to point toward
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — not warm
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — an illness
  21. squash — to crush
  22. roll — a cake
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. roll — a list

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