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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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Word bank
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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: band · march · cabinet · dip · trunk · face · chest · kid

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. face — to point toward
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chest — a box
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. face — to confront
  19. band — a music group
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — to tease
  24. trunk — of a tree

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