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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 · wave · last · fall · key · content · net · squash

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. key — the most important part
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. key — for a lock
  6. fall — the season
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. face — to confront
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. key — in music
  12. net — for catching
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — to go on
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. face — to point toward
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. face — part of the head
  24. squash — the sport

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