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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 · mark · squash · spell · rest · face · hide · march

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. march — the month
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rest — a break
  9. march — the month
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — part of the head
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. spell — letters
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. squash — to crush
  20. face — to point toward
  21. mark — a trace
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mark — a grade
  24. march — 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