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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: board · lash · date · ball · chest · face · hide · wind

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. date — the fruit
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. face — to confront
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a dance
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — a box
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. face — part of the head
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. face — to point toward
  18. board — to get on
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wind — moving air
  24. board — a committee

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