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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bass — the fish
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. date — the fruit
  22. present — a gift
  23. bass — low music
  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