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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. last — final
  8. chest — of your body
  9. root — of a word
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chest — a box
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. march — the month
  20. last — to go on
  21. march — music
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. last — finally

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