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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spring — of water
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. chip — for betting
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. face — to confront
  18. swing — music
  19. chip — to eat
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stand — to bear
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chip — in a computer

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