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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: chest · rock · field · pit · row · mark · ball · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mark — a grade
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rock — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rock — a stone
  8. row — a line
  9. field — for sport
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. chest — a box
  18. field — farmland
  19. ball — a dance
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. field — a subject
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. row — to paddle
  24. temple — side of the head

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