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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: hide · fan · bulb · cell · cold · bark · court · face

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cell — in biology
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of law
  10. face — to confront
  11. court — for sport
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. court — of a king
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cold — the Cold War

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