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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: firm · arm · face · bat · rest · mark · tear · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. kick — in football
  4. firm — a company
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mark — a trace
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. firm — steady
  11. face — to confront
  12. rest — what's left
  13. face — to point toward
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rest — a break
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bat — the animal
  23. firm — decided
  24. tear — from crying

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