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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bass — low music
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chest — a box
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. band — a music group
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bark — to shout
  20. band — a ring
  21. date — the fruit
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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