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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: nail · face · sharp · cap · net · chest · cell · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cap — of ice
  3. sharp — clever
  4. face — part of the head
  5. net — in sport
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cap — a hat
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — after costs
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cap — a lid
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cell — a phone
  21. face — to confront
  22. net — for catching
  23. face — to point toward
  24. chest — a box

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