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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: cell · rest · band · fan · wave · face · shower · current

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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 point toward
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. face — to confront
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. current — electric
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. cell — in biology
  10. shower — rain
  11. band — a music group
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. face — part of the head
  17. current — of water
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. band — a ring
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. current — happening now
  24. shower — to wash

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