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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: chest · field · pass · board · face · squash · fall · cell

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. board — to get on
  3. pass — a permit
  4. board — a committee
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fall — to drop
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — to confront
  14. chest — of your body
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chest — a box
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — a phone
  21. field — a subject
  22. face — part of the head
  23. fall — the season
  24. face — to point toward

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