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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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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bank — for money
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. chest — a box
  24. bank — for money

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