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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: face · chest · pop · ground · sharp · rest · drill · cell

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rest — a break
  5. face — part of the head
  6. drill — army training
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chest — a box
  9. sharp — clever
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pop — music
  13. face — to confront
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. ground — a position
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pop — soda
  20. chest — of your body
  21. face — to point toward
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rest — what's left

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