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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. chest — a box
  4. face — part of the head
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bass — low music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. face — to point toward
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. face — to confront
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. rash — hasty
  16. present — the time now
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. present — a gift
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bass — the fish

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