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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 · key · content · hide · coach · racket · kid · face

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. content — the amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kid — child
  17. face — to point toward
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kid — to tease
  20. face — to confront
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. key — the most important part
  24. racket — for tennis

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