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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. chest — of your body
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — in cards
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mate — a friend
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mate — to breed
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bear — the animal
  14. staff — employees
  15. ground — the earth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ground — crushed
  18. staff — employees
  19. ground — a position
  20. bear — the animal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — a stick
  23. hand — help
  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