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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: key · chair · last · temple · chest · wake · leaves · bark

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. key — the most important part
  4. last — finally
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — a box
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — to shout
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. key — in 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