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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: face · chest · snap · key · mine · calf · date · current

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. key — for a lock
  5. current — electric
  6. chest — of your body
  7. face — part of the head
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. snap — to click
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. key — in music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. current — of water
  14. face — to confront
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. date — the fruit
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. key — the most important part
  19. face — to point toward
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. current — happening now

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