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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: can · board · perch · chest · last · shower · saw · face

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. face — part of the head
  3. saw — the tool
  4. face — to point toward
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. board — a committee
  7. chest — of your body
  8. can — to be able to
  9. last — finally
  10. chest — a box
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chest — of your body
  13. perch — the fish
  14. can — a tin
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. board — to get on
  17. face — to confront
  18. last — final
  19. shower — to wash
  20. can — a tin
  21. saw — the tool
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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