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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: rush · last · fan · chair · face · bat · perch · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. last — to go on
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. last — final
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rush — hurry
  18. face — to point toward
  19. last — finally
  20. perch — the fish
  21. face — to confront
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. saw — the tool
  24. perch — for a bird

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