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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: coach · hide · chest · temple · cap · cell · tube · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cap — a hat
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cap — of ice
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tube — a container
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cell — in biology
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. chest — a box

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