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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: chest · bark · track · temple · bat · race · land · deal

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bat — the animal
  8. track — to keep track
  9. race — the arms race
  10. track — a song
  11. bark — to shout
  12. race — a contest
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. track — a path
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. race — humankind
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  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