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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 124 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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468
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: straw · fan · rash · roll · mine · game · bore · face

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. face — to point toward
  3. roll — a list
  4. rash — a series
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bore — to drill
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. mine — for digging
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bore — to tire
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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