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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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. chest — of your body
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. field — for sport
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. chest — a box
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wave — of the sea

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