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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: mark · chest · wave · kid · object · face · arm · cap

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. object — an aim
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. kid — child
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mark — a trace
  12. object — to protest
  13. mark — a grade
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chest — of your body
  17. object — a thing
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. chest — of your body
  23. face — to confront
  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