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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 120 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: chip · land · track · cell · hide · bat · chest · temple

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. land — ground
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — a country
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cell — a phone
  12. track — a song
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. land — to come down
  21. track — a path
  22. chip — to eat
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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