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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a document
  5. charge — a price
  6. file — a tool
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. kick — in football
  9. cap — a hat
  10. charge — electricity
  11. field — for sport
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — a subject
  15. bank — for money
  16. chest — a box
  17. file — a line of people
  18. charge — in control
  19. cap — of ice
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. field — farmland
  22. bank — of a river
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chest — of your body

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