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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 120 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — to rob
  4. firm — decided
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. firm — a company
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. chest — of your body
  12. snap — to click
  13. mug — a cup
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. firm — steady
  20. mug — a face
  21. pitch — completely
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. chest — a box

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