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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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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: bass · kid · land · face · arm · wind · perch · craft

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — low music
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. land — to come down
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kid — child
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. craft — boats
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. craft — a skill
  18. face — to point toward
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. face — to confront
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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