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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 120 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: tube · chest · face · file · snap · rush · cap · foot

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. foot — a measure
  3. chest — a box
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cap — of ice
  8. file — a document
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cap — a lid
  14. snap — to click
  15. file — a line of people
  16. face — part of the head
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. file — a tool
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tube — a container
  23. face — to confront
  24. chest — of your body

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