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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fine — high quality
  8. club — a group
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. club — for golf
  11. face — to confront
  12. club — for dancing
  13. kid — to tease
  14. face — to point toward
  15. kid — child
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fine — all right
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. content — happy
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. content — the amount

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