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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: pound · fan · file · nail · kid · season · wake · face

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. season — in sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. face — to point toward
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. file — a tool
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. face — to confront
  21. pound — a weight
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. file — a document

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