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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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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: bound · temple · race · firm · chest · fork · mine · staff

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. race — a contest
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bound — certain
  7. firm — a company
  8. bound — tied together
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. firm — decided
  13. bound — obliged
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. chest — of your body
  17. firm — steady
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. fork — in a road
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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