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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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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: temple · march · spell · race · mouse · fan · spring · face

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. march — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. spring — of water
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. face — to confront
  12. march — the month
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spring — the season
  18. march — the month
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — a coil
  24. temple — side 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