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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: patient · track · kick · chest · capital · temple · stem · fork

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. capital — money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. chest — of your body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — a city
  15. fork — in a road
  16. stem — to come from
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — a box
  19. track — a path
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. track — a song
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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