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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hand — help
  3. face — to point toward
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rash — a series
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. rash — hasty
  14. face — to confront
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. saw — the tool
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. swing — music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. swing — in golf
  24. face — part of the head

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