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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: last · bound · content · leaves · chest · temple · calf · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. last — final
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — certain
  5. rest — what's left
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rest — a break
  8. content — happy
  9. chest — a box
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bound — obliged
  15. last — finally
  16. content — the amount
  17. bound — tied together
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. last — to go on
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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