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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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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: mark · can · season · chest · rest · ground · bat · face

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. ground — a position
  3. mark — a trace
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. season — in sport
  10. face — to confront
  11. season — of the year
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rest — what's left
  15. face — to point toward
  16. rest — a break
  17. mark — a grade
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chest — a box
  21. face — part of the head
  22. rest — what's left
  23. can — a tin
  24. mark — to pay attention

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