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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 120 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 · scale · row · mine · bear · face · march · swing

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. scale — in music
  5. march — music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. swing — to play on
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. face — to confront
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. march — the month
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. swing — in golf
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. swing — music

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