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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wake — a trail
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bound — obliged
  11. chest — a box
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bound — certain
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chest — of your body
  24. shower — rain

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