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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: patient · lie · dip · chest · straw · land · face · jam

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chest — of your body
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — to sink
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. land — to come down
  9. lie — to recline
  10. face — to point toward
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. face — to confront
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. face — part of the head
  20. land — a country
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. chest — a box
  24. land — ground

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