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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 116 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wind — moving air
  6. face — to confront
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bulb — for light
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tear — to rip
  15. board — to get on
  16. band — a music group
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. band — a ring
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. face — to point toward

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