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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 · swing · bat · shower · stand · bound · fan

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. stand — to bear
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. swing — to play on
  20. face — to point toward
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. shower — rain
  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