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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: present · foot · clip · chest · chip · cap · face · last

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — finally
  4. chip — for betting
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chest — a box
  7. cap — a hat
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. last — final
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. clip — to cut
  14. present — the time now
  15. cap — of ice
  16. face — to point toward
  17. clip — a video
  18. present — there
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. last — to go on
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chest — of your body
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. chip — to eat

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