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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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468
Word bank
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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pit — a hole
  13. shower — rain
  14. rock — a stone
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — to wash
  18. file — a tool
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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