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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. net — for catching
  3. face — to confront
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — after costs
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — a price
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cap — of ice
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cell — a phone
  17. net — in sport
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cap — a lid
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rash — a series
  22. chest — a box
  23. charge — electricity
  24. face — to point toward

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