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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: season · chest · cell · fine · toast · face · trunk · stem

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fine — all right
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — in biology
  6. season — in sport
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. toast — bread
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. cell — a phone
  18. face — to confront
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — a box
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fine — high quality

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