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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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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: bank · wound · mate · perch · club · present · face · chest

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bank — for money
  3. face — to confront
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — a friend
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. present — there
  8. face — part of the head
  9. present — a gift
  10. bank — for money
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bank — of a river
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. club — a group
  17. face — to point toward
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chest — a box
  21. wound — an injury
  22. perch — the fish
  23. present — the time now
  24. club — for golf

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