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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pop — music
  4. net — after costs
  5. face — to confront
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. capital — money
  8. rush — hurry
  9. net — in sport
  10. face — part of the head
  11. capital — a city
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. pop — soda
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pop — to visit
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. tube — a container
  21. net — for catching
  22. kick — in football
  23. face — to point toward
  24. tube — the underground

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