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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: fan · charge · face · content · bat · lean · spring · can

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. face — part of the head
  3. charge — a price
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. content — the amount
  6. can — a tin
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. charge — electricity
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bat — the animal
  11. charge — in control
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spring — of water
  15. lean — thin
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — a coil
  18. face — to confront
  19. content — happy
  20. spring — the season
  21. can — a tin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. content — videos and posts

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