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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 · face · rock · chest · kick · deal · content · cap

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — happy
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rock — music
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. face — part of the head
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. deal — to handle
  10. date — the fruit
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cap — a lid
  15. kick — in football
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cap — a hat
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. chest — a box
  21. face — to confront
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — the amount

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