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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · jam · patient · temple · perch · pop · bat · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pop — music
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pop — soda
  8. ball — a great time
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pop — to visit
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. chest — a box
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ball — a dance
  18. perch — the fish
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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