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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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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: bat · rush · mate · face · spring · net · fan · ruler

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mate — a friend
  3. face — to confront
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bat — the animal
  6. net — in sport
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. face — to point toward
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. net — for catching
  17. spring — of water
  18. net — after costs
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. face — part of the head

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