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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: tear · face · fan · march · fork · rule · rush · swing

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — music
  13. rule — a law
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — in golf
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. march — the month
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rule — government
  23. face — to confront
  24. tear — from crying

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