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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: calf · swing · race · chest · sharp · pit · face · cap

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. swing — music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — a contest
  7. pit — a hole
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chest — a box
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cap — of ice
  15. face — to confront
  16. swing — to play on
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chest — of your body
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — a hat
  24. chest — of your body

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