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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — a box
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. march — the month
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. march — music
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chest — of your body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. club — for dancing
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — the month
  20. club — a group
  21. chip — for betting
  22. dip — to sink
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wound — an injury

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