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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 120 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: face · pound · arm · chest · saw · march · wave · ground

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — the month
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pound — a weight
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. ground — a position
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. ground — the earth
  12. face — to point toward
  13. ground — crushed
  14. saw — the tool
  15. face — to confront
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. chest — a box
  18. face — part of the head
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. chest — of your body
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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