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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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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: leaves · bark · court · pop · chest · fall · deal · temple

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pop — to visit
  7. deal — to handle
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pop — music
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pop — soda
  15. fall — the season
  16. chest — a box
  17. court — of a king
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. court — for sport
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. court — of law
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — of your body
  24. temple — side of the head

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