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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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Word bank
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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 · temple · cold · arm · present · track

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. chest — a box
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. present — a gift
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. present — there
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. arm — a part of something

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