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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. swing — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — of water
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. swing — in golf
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. field — for sport
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bulb — for light
  14. swing — to play on
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. spring — the season
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. field — a subject
  21. cell — in biology
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cell — a phone

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