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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. last — finally
  4. mug — to rob
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. kid — child
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. row — to paddle
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. last — final
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chest — a box
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — a face
  16. dip — to sink
  17. row — a line
  18. kid — to tease
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. last — to go on
  22. cell — a phone
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cell — in a prison

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