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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: temple · key · cell · patient · mouse · bass · chest · game

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a match
  5. bass — low music
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. chest — of your body
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cell — in biology
  12. key — in music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chest — a box
  16. key — for a lock
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cell — a phone
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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