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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. current — electric
  3. spring — of water
  4. face — part of the head
  5. club — a group
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. saw — the tool
  9. current — of water
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. current — happening now
  12. saw — the tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. spring — a coil
  16. plane — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. spring — the season
  20. file — a document
  21. club — for golf
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. file — a tool
  24. club — for dancing

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