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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: bark · game · court · rest · sharp · chest · temple · deal

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rest — a break
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of law
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. rest — what's left
  9. court — for sport
  10. chest — a box
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. game — a match
  16. bark — to shout
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. court — of a king
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. chest — of your body
  23. game — wild animals
  24. deal — to handle

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