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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · tear · prune · firm · pound · temple

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tear — to rip
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — decided
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chest — of your body
  17. firm — steady
  18. 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