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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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468
Word bank
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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chest — of your body
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pass — a permit
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. can — to be able to
  14. spell — letters
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. face — to confront
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. can — a tin
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cold — the Cold War

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