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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. row — a line
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — to go on
  5. track — a path
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. face — to confront
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. face — to point toward
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. row — to paddle
  17. last — finally
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. foot — a measure
  21. chest — a box
  22. last — final
  23. face — part of the head
  24. chest — of your body

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