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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: cold · bear · sharp · rock · face · bowl · saw · fan

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. sharp — clever
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bear — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. face — part of the head

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