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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mug — a cup
  6. face — to point toward
  7. land — to come down
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. mine — for digging
  11. land — ground
  12. chest — a box
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — a country
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. tube — a container
  20. face — to confront
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mug — a face
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chest — of your body

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