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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. firm — steady
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. firm — a company
  12. last — finally
  13. date — the fruit
  14. last — to go on
  15. file — a document
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. file — a tool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chest — a box
  20. file — a line of people
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. firm — decided
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. last — final

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