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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: chair · kick · saw · snap · net · face · mouse · racket

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. net — in sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. face — part of the head
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kick — in football
  16. snap — to click
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. racket — for tennis

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