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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.

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: face · fan · bat · chest · saw · net · wave · craft

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. net — after costs
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. net — for catching
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — in sport
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. chest — a box
  16. bat — the animal
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. craft — boats
  20. face — part of the head
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. face — to confront
  24. chest — of your body

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