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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. hand — help
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. face — to confront
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wax — to grow
  10. face — to point toward
  11. land — a country
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. land — to come down
  15. chest — a box
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mark — a grade
  21. land — ground
  22. face — part of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wax — for sculpting

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