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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. face — to confront
  5. clip — for paper
  6. field — farmland
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. field — a subject
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. field — for sport
  11. bank — for money
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. kid — to tease
  14. face — to point toward
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — a video
  18. bank — of a river
  19. kid — child
  20. rest — a break
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rest — what's left
  24. clip — to cut

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