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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: game · deal · fan · wound · straw · track · face · cabinet

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. deal — to handle
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. track — a path
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. face — part of the head
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. face — to confront
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. game — a match
  19. face — to point toward
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — a song
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wound — an injury

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