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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. spell — magic
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. spell — letters
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. face — part of the head
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. band — a music group
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. spell — a short time
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. fan — a supporter

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