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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: band · cell · foot · face · kid · leaves · rash · chest

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. kid — child
  4. band — a ring
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rash — a series
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rash — hasty
  14. chest — a box
  15. kid — to tease
  16. face — part of the head
  17. band — a music group
  18. foot — a measure
  19. face — to confront
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  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