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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: cold · suit · fan · spell · coach · rest · face · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spell — letters
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — clothes
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. face — to confront
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. face — to point toward
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — magic
  22. clip — for paper
  23. suit — to fit
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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