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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wind — moving air
  4. scale — in music
  5. mine — for digging
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. face — to confront
  19. last — final
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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