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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 · pitcher · foot · deal · chest · straw · rest · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rest — a break
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. season — in sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. chest — a box
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. foot — a measure
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rest — what's left
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. season — of the year

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