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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. kick — in football
  3. drill — a practice
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. capital — money
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. swing — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. drill — the tool
  15. file — a document
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. file — a tool
  18. swing — to play on
  19. drill — army training
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. swing — in golf
  24. temple — side of the head

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