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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. face — part of the head
  3. net — after costs
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. face — to confront
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — to point toward
  9. can — a tin
  10. kid — child
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. net — for catching
  15. can — to be able to
  16. net — in sport
  17. rest — a break
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. can — a tin
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fan — to cool the air

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