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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. hand — in cards
  4. face — part of the head
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. face — to confront
  7. suit — in cards
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. suit — to fit
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — farmland
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — dry grass

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