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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. date — the fruit
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. chest — a box
  14. mark — a trace
  15. chest — of your body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mark — a grade
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cell — in biology
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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