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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 · safe · face · bat · wound · tear · lash · can

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. can — a tin
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. chest — a box
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to confront
  20. bat — the animal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. tear — to rip
  24. can — a tin

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