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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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ground — a position
  4. face — to confront
  5. race — the arms race
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. season — of the year
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — crushed
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to point toward
  20. race — humankind
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. race — a contest
  24. ground — the earth

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