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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · march · temple · jam · bore · chest · trunk · field

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bore — to tire
  5. march — the month
  6. field — for sport
  7. chest — a box
  8. field — farmland
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. plane — a tool
  16. field — a subject
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. chest — of your body
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. march — music
  23. bore — to drill
  24. plane — in geometry

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