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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 · ground · chest · bear · saw · leaves · foot · ball

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. chest — of your body
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. face — to confront
  11. ground — a position
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. face — part of the head
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. foot — a measure
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. face — to point toward
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chest — a box

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