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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: chest · perch · dip · pitcher · bay · track · temple · cell

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cell — a phone
  3. track — a song
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cell — in biology
  13. dip — to sink
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. chest — a box
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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