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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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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: cell · arm · pitcher · chair · saw · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chair — a leader
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on

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