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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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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: mark · pound · fan · net · rule · last · face · roll

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — final
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. roll — a cake
  5. last — finally
  6. rule — a law
  7. face — to confront
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. last — to go on
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. face — to point toward
  13. net — after costs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mark — a trace
  19. net — in sport
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. net — for catching
  23. rule — government
  24. mark — a grade

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