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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — final
  3. net — in sport
  4. face — to confront
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. last — finally
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. face — part of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. chest — of your body
  14. face — to point toward
  15. last — to go on
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. net — after costs
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. net — for catching
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chest — a box

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