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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: field · lash · bat · staff · craft · saw · wake · face

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. face — to confront
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — farmland
  5. staff — employees
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. face — part of the head
  8. field — for sport
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. saw — the tool
  14. field — a subject
  15. craft — a skill
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. staff — a stick
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bat — the animal
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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