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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: chest · face · calf · object · sharp · race · jam · can

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  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. chest — of your body
  2. race — a contest
  3. object — to protest
  4. can — to be able to
  5. face — part of the head
  6. object — an aim
  7. chest — of your body
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. object — a thing
  13. race — humankind
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. sharp — clever
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. race — the arms race
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  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