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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: dip · wake · rock · track · face · fan · prune · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. track — a song
  3. rock — music
  4. face — to confront
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. dip — to sink
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. face — part of the head
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wake — a trail
  13. game — wild animals
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. prune — to trim
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rock — a stone
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. track — a path
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fan — to cool the air

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