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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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468
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: mate · chest · date · cell · saw · bound · march · face

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. march — the month
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — to breed
  6. date — the fruit
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. bound — certain
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bound — obliged
  19. march — the month
  20. face — to confront
  21. march — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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