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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — an aim
  3. face — to confront
  4. object — to protest
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fall — the season
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. face — to point toward
  15. hand — help
  16. board — to get on
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. board — a committee
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fall — to drop
  23. vault — a safe
  24. object — a thing

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