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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: plane · face · chest · sharp · branch · straw · last · calf

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. face — to point toward
  3. last — to go on
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. last — finally
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. last — final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. face — to confront
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. branch — a division
  22. face — part of the head
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. sharp — clever

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