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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 · field · snap · fork · face · mouse · pop · bound

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — to point toward
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bound — tied together
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — a subject
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. snap — to click
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. field — for sport
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bound — obliged
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pop — music
  24. bound — certain

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