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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 120 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: suit · march · lie · rash · net · face · scale · straw

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. face — part of the head
  6. suit — clothes
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — size or range
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. net — for catching
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. march — the month
  16. suit — to fit
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — in music
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. march — music
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — to confront

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