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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: chest · land · ball · hand · band · lie · temple · snap

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. land — a country
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. lie — to recline
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. land — ground
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chest — a box
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. band — a music group
  15. ball — a dance
  16. land — to come down
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. band — a ring
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. hand — help
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. snap — to click

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