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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: capital · drill · arm · shower · hide · temple · track · chest

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. track — a path
  3. shower — rain
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. track — to keep track
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. track — a song
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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