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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · face · board · present · cold · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. present — there
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. date — the fruit
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. face — part of the head
  12. present — the time now
  13. face — to confront
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. board — a committee
  16. present — a gift
  17. board — to get on
  18. 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