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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — a path
  4. net — in sport
  5. rock — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — to keep track
  8. net — after costs
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. net — for catching
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. track — a song
  18. cell — in biology
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. chest — a box
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rock — a stone
  24. game — a match

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