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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kick — in football
  5. face — part of the head
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. swing — in golf
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. face — to confront
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stand — to bear
  24. face — to point toward

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