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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: stick · bore · temple · tube · land · pop · hand · chest

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pop — soda
  6. tube — the underground
  7. land — to come down
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hand — help
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bore — to drill
  14. land — ground
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pop — music
  19. bore — to tire
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tube — a container
  23. chest — a box
  24. land — a country

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