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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to click
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — of a king
  19. face — to confront
  20. chest — a box
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. roll — a list
  24. ruler — for measuring

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