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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · chest · fall · mark · foot · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mate — a friend
  11. foot — a measure
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mark — a trace
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. chest — a box
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fall — the season

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