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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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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: rest · pop · face · stand · foot · clip · chest · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pop — music
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rest — a break
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. clip — for paper
  16. face — to confront
  17. pop — soda
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. chest — a box
  21. foot — a measure
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rest — what's left
  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