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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. chest — a box
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rash — a series
  8. tube — a container
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. file — a tool
  13. face — to confront
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. file — a line of people
  16. lean — to bend
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a document
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cap — a hat
  22. chest — of your body
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cap — of ice

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