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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · pit · face · lash · plane · chair · content · bat

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pit — in a race
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. content — happy
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. content — the amount
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. face — to confront
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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