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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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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: wake · march · rest · wound · bound · temple · cap · chest

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. chest — a box
  14. march — the month
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bound — certain
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cap — a lid
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — music
  22. rest — a break
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rest — what's left

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