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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: hand · chest · temple · deal · pound · track · last · stand

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. track — a path
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. track — a song
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stand — to bear
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — final
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pound — a weight

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