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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: spring · face · lean · last · pound · chest · swing · row

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — final
  4. row — a line
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. chest — a box
  7. swing — in golf
  8. face — to point toward
  9. lean — thin
  10. spring — of water
  11. row — to paddle
  12. lean — to bend
  13. swing — music
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. last — to go on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. swing — to play on
  19. face — part of the head
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. face — to confront
  22. chest — of your body
  23. last — finally
  24. row — a quarrel

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