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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 · chest · march · wound · chip · track · vault · mine

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. march — the month
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. vault — a safe
  13. march — the month
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. chip — to eat
  16. march — music
  17. chip — for betting
  18. track — a song
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. track — a path
  23. chest — a box
  24. track — to keep track

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