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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: wake · kid · snap · temple · chest · cell · fall · pound

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fall — the season
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. fall — to drop
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — child
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. snap — to click
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pound — a weight
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. temple — a place of worship

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