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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wake — a trail
  3. face — to point toward
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wound — an injury
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chest — a box
  23. face — to confront
  24. temple — side of the head

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