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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 · craft · clip · bat · key · mate · straw · saw

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. key — for a lock
  4. craft — a skill
  5. saw — the tool
  6. key — in music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. clip — a video
  11. face — to confront
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. mate — a partner
  19. face — part of the head
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. key — the most important part
  22. craft — boats
  23. mate — a friend
  24. straw — a straw man

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