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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. face — to confront
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to point toward
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. hand — help
  24. fan — a supporter

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