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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: cap · march · wake · face · hand · can · pound · chest

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. face — to point toward
  3. march — the month
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hand — help
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — to confront
  14. can — to be able to
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chest — a box
  22. can — a tin
  23. face — part of the head
  24. can — a tin

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