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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. chest — of your body
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. face — to confront
  9. cell — in biology
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. chest — a box
  13. hand — help
  14. game — a match
  15. hand — in cards
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  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