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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: face · clip · fall · fine · wake · saw · mate · chest

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mate — to breed
  3. face — part of the head
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — a friend
  6. saw — the tool
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. wake — a trail
  10. fine — all right
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — the season
  18. clip — a video
  19. chest — a box
  20. clip — for paper
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mate — a partner
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fine — high quality

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