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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.

Make a worksheet

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: pit · face · wake · net · straw · chair · last · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. last — to go on
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pit — in a race
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — in sport
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pit — a hole
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. net — for catching
  17. last — final
  18. net — after costs
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chair — a leader
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. last — finally
  24. wake — a trail

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