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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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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 · rock · hand · suit · pitcher · trunk · land · face

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. rock — music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. suit — to fit
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. land — to come down
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. face — to point toward
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. suit — in cards
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. land — ground
  22. face — to confront
  23. land — a country
  24. rock — a stone

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