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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: march · chest · fall · tube · bowl · temple · cell · lie

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fall — to drop
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tube — a container
  11. march — the month
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chest — a box
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — a phone
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. march — music

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