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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: bat · face · rest · spring · bank · game · fan · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bank — of a river
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — a match
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bank — for money
  17. bulb — for light
  18. face — to confront
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spring — the season
  22. bank — for money
  23. spring — of water
  24. rest — a break

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