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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: chest · season · rush · lie · rock · pound · can · face

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rock — music
  3. can — to be able to
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — in sport
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rock — a stone
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. can — a tin
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. can — a tin
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chest — a box
  18. lie — to recline
  19. face — to confront
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. face — part of the head
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pound — a weight
  24. rush — hurry

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