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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: fine · net · cell · face · wave · row · lean · squash

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. face — to point toward
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. squash — the sport
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fine — high quality
  8. net — after costs
  9. fine — all right
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. net — in sport
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. face — to confront
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. row — a line
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cell — in biology

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