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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. season — of the year
  3. face — part of the head
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rule — a law
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. season — in sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. face — to confront
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. rule — government
  18. mine — for digging
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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