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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: calf · chip · face · squash · chest · march · race · wound

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. chest — of your body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. march — music
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. chip — for betting
  14. race — a contest
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wound — an injury
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. chest — a box
  21. race — humankind
  22. face — to point toward
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. squash — to crush

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