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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. face — part of the head
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. face — to confront
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. ground — a position
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. ground — the earth
  21. face — to point toward
  22. chest — a box
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ground — crushed

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