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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 120 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: cap · swing · cell · chest · face · saw · mouse · march

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. march — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cell — a phone
  6. face — to confront
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — in biology
  9. march — the month
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. chest — a box
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. swing — to play on
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. swing — music
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. saw — the tool

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