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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 · band · fan · lean · board · date · stick · hand

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. face — to confront
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. band — a music group
  8. board — to get on
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. face — to point toward
  12. date — the fruit
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lean — thin
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. board — a committee
  24. band — a ring

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