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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: present · cell · temple · chest · patient · arm · game · rest

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cell — in biology
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. present — a gift
  7. chest — a box
  8. cell — a phone
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. game — a match
  14. rest — what's left
  15. present — there
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. present — the time now
  19. rest — a break
  20. chest — of your body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. game — wild animals
  24. arm — a part of something

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