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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: face · prune · bowl · club · chest · file · mate · coach

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chest — of your body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mate — to breed
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — to point toward
  14. mate — a partner
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. club — a group
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a tool
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. face — to confront
  23. mate — a friend
  24. file — a document

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