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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: tube · leaves · temple · chest · bat · cell · wake · mine

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chest — of your body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wake — a trail
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. chest — a box
  8. cell — in biology
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. tube — the underground
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. tube — a container
  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