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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: tube · rock · face · mine · swing · hand · fan · march

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. march — the month
  3. face — to confront
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. face — part of the head
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. rock — music
  10. mine — for digging
  11. march — music
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — in cards
  15. face — to point toward
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. march — the month
  20. swing — in golf
  21. hand — help
  22. rock — a stone
  23. tube — the underground
  24. swing — music

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