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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · bat · date · key · staff · bowl · face · fan

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. date — the fruit
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. staff — a stick
  6. key — in music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. face — to confront
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — part of the head
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. chest — a box
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. face — to point toward
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bat — the animal
  22. key — the most important part
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — to cool the air

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