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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: chest · drill · staff · prune · rash · face · kick · wind

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chest — of your body
  6. face — part of the head
  7. drill — army training
  8. staff — employees
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — a series
  12. chest — of your body
  13. drill — a practice
  14. face — to confront
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rash — hasty
  18. kick — in football
  19. prune — to trim
  20. face — to point toward
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rash — on the skin

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