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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fork — in a road
  3. chest — of your body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stem — to come from
  16. ground — a position
  17. chest — a box
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ground — crushed
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. temple — side of the head

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