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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 settled on a ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mine — for digging
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chip — to eat
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chest — a box
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bark — to shout
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. bark — of a tree

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