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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: cue · field · file · cell · face · hand · object · chest

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. field — for sport
  6. cue — a hint
  7. object — an aim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. file — a tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. field — farmland
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. field — a subject
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cue — a signal
  17. file — a document
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cell — in biology
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. object — to protest
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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