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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: face · fork · lie · squash · chest · swing · patient · rule

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. chest — a box
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rule — government
  9. face — part of the head
  10. swing — music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. face — to confront
  14. rule — a law
  15. swing — in golf
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. squash — the sport
  18. fork — in a road
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chest — of your body
  22. swing — to play on
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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