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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: craft · object · fan · last · current · snap · face · saw

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. current — electric
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. craft — a skill
  11. last — to go on
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. current — of water
  15. face — to confront
  16. object — a thing
  17. face — part of the head
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. current — happening now
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. saw — the tool
  23. face — to point toward
  24. saw — the tool

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