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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. vault — a safe
  3. club — a group
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — a box
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. club — for golf
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — in football

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