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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: chest · face · suit · can · kid · ground

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. 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. ground — a position
  3. suit — in cards
  4. chest — of your body
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. can — a tin
  11. face — to confront
  12. chest — a box
  13. can — to be able to
  14. face — part of the head
  15. can — a tin
  16. face — to point toward
  17. ground — crushed
  18. 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