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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. face — to point toward
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. face — to confront
  14. court — for sport
  15. wake — a trail
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chest — a box
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. mate — to breed
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lash — to lash out

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