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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: firm · chest · stick · temple · fine · rule · content · field

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — government
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. chest — a box
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. firm — a company
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. firm — decided
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. firm — steady
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. field — farmland
  23. rule — a law
  24. field — a subject

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