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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: current · chest · march · face · cell · spring · date · fan

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. date — the fruit
  3. spring — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cell — a phone
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. spring — the season
  11. chest — a box
  12. march — the month
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — in biology
  21. march — music
  22. current — of water
  23. chest — of your body
  24. current — electric

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