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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: date · rest · hand · degree · racket · chest · face · tube

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chest — a box
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hand — in cards
  8. degree — temperature
  9. face — to point toward
  10. degree — an amount
  11. hand — help
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. degree — from a university
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. face — to confront
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tube — a container
  24. racket — a loud noise

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