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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: ball · kick · kid · fall · fan · object · game · face

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. face — to confront
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fall — the season
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. face — to point toward
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — to drop
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ball — a dance
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. face — part of the head
  16. ball — a great time
  17. object — a thing
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kick — in football
  22. kid — child
  23. object — an aim
  24. fan — a supporter

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