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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · game · present · chest · ground · saw · tear · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a face
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — there
  8. face — part of the head
  9. game — wild animals
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chest — a box
  14. saw — the tool
  15. face — to point toward
  16. ground — the earth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ground — a position
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ground — crushed
  23. face — to confront
  24. mug — a cup

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