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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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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: fan · lash · mate · face · cell · pound · straw · scale

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. face — part of the head
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. face — to confront
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mate — to breed
  18. scale — in music
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. mate — a friend
  22. face — to point toward
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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