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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chest — a box
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. branch — a division
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rash — a series
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rash — hasty
  24. face — to confront

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