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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: toast · coach · ground · rest · mark · chest · track · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. track — a song
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. ground — a position
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. track — to keep track
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. mark — a grade
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rest — a break
  13. toast — bread
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. ground — the earth
  19. track — a path
  20. mark — a trace
  21. chest — a box
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rest — what's left
  24. coach — a trainer

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