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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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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: bulb · tear · face · last · bay · cell · fan · bat

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. face — part of the head
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. last — finally
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cell — in biology
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. face — to confront
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. tear — to rip

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