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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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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: chest · board · bass · roll · fan · face · bark · saw

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. board — a committee
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chest — of your body
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bark — to shout
  11. saw — the tool
  12. face — to confront
  13. bass — low music
  14. chest — a box
  15. board — to get on
  16. saw — the tool
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. roll — a list
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. face — to point toward
  24. roll — on a roll

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