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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: plane · leaves · deal · stand · foot · chest · cold · kick

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stand — to bear
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cold — not warm
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. kick — in football
  17. deal — to handle
  18. foot — a measure
  19. plane — a tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. chest — a box

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