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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 120 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: perch · chest · foot · craft · wake · face · fall · net

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. perch — the fish
  3. net — in sport
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. face — to confront
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — after costs
  9. foot — a measure
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. face — part of the head
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. net — for catching
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. craft — boats
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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