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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. club — for golf
  3. face — part of the head
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. object — to protest
  6. club — a group
  7. file — a tool
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — a thing
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. file — a document
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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