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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bark — to shout
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. band — a ring
  8. net — for catching
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. date — the fruit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. net — after costs
  14. band — a music group
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chest — of your body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. net — in sport
  22. chest — of your body
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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