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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 116 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: kid · face · rush · dip · shower · fan · spell · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — to wash
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. face — to point toward
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spell — letters
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. spell — magic
  19. dip — to sink
  20. shower — rain
  21. kid — child
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fan — a supporter

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