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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cue — a hint
  13. content — the amount
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cue — for pool
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cue — a signal
  24. face — to confront

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