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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rash — a series
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. capital — money
  13. chip — to eat
  14. board — to get on
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. capital — a city
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. board — a committee
  19. face — to confront
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rash — hasty

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