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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: wake · net · file · mate · land · temple · pop · chest

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wake — a trail
  3. net — after costs
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. land — a country
  7. pop — music
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pop — to visit
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chest — of your body
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mate — to breed
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. file — a document
  18. net — for catching
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pop — soda
  24. net — in sport

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