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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bass — the fish
  5. face — to confront
  6. mug — a face
  7. row — a line
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bass — low music
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mug — a cup
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. face — part of the head
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — a box
  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