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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 120 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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. face — to confront
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. face — to point toward
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. foot — a measure
  9. land — ground
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. face — part of the head
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rush — hurry
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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