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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: date · chest · patient · toast · face · coach · shower · fall

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. face — to confront
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chest — of your body
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. shower — rain
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. toast — bread
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chest — a box
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. fall — to drop
  15. date — the fruit
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. shower — to wash
  20. face — to point toward
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fall — the season
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. face — part of the head

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