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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: face · march · wound · snap · can · root · cell · fan

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. march — the month
  3. snap — to click
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wound — an injury
  9. face — to confront
  10. march — the month
  11. face — part of the head
  12. root — of a word
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cell — in biology
  21. march — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. root — the cause
  24. cell — a phone

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