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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 120 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: suit · row · fan · fall · face · court · tear · lean

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. face — to confront
  3. suit — clothes
  4. tear — to rip
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. suit — in cards
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — for sport
  11. lean — thin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — of law
  14. suit — to fit
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. face — to point toward
  18. court — of a king
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — to bend

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