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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bat — the animal
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. face — to confront
  13. chest — a box
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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