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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mine — for digging
  3. face — to point toward
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tube — the underground
  7. craft — boats
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mark — a grade
  12. tube — a container
  13. spring — the season
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. craft — a skill
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mark — a trace
  18. spring — of water
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. chest — a box

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