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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: face · rule · rush · last · perch · field · toast · fan

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. rule — a law
  7. last — to go on
  8. perch — the fish
  9. last — final
  10. face — to confront
  11. rush — hurry
  12. face — to point toward
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. toast — bread
  16. face — part of the head
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rule — government
  21. field — farmland
  22. last — finally
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. field — a subject

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