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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to point toward
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cold — an illness
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — for catching
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. file — a document
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. net — in sport
  22. face — to confront
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. net — after costs

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