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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. foot — a measure
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. track — to keep track
  12. chest — a box
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. face — to confront
  18. march — music
  19. perch — the fish
  20. track — a song
  21. face — part of the head
  22. march — the month
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. track — a path

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