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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 · mate · staff · face · swing · hand · spell · land

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. land — ground
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. land — a country
  6. hand — help
  7. spell — magic
  8. land — to come down
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mate — a friend
  11. spell — letters
  12. mate — a partner
  13. face — to confront
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. swing — music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. spell — a short time
  19. staff — a stick
  20. face — to point toward
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fan — a supporter
  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