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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: fall · chest · mark · cell · scale · swing · face · mug

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mug — a face
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mug — a cup
  9. fall — the season
  10. mark — a grade
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chest — a box
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — of your body
  22. swing — music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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