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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 · race · content · cabinet · chair · pop · fan · chest

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pop — music
  8. race — a contest
  9. face — to point toward
  10. chest — of your body
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. content — the amount
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. face — to confront
  22. chest — a box
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chest — of your body

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