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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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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: hand · band · arm · net · firm · plane · face · wake

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. firm — steady
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. face — part of the head
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. net — in sport
  13. plane — a tool
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. wake — a trail
  17. firm — a company
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. firm — decided
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. net — after costs
  23. band — a music group
  24. wake — before a funeral

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