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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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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: wind · bank · temple · bat · kick · chest

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chest — a box
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bank — for money
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kick — in football
  16. bank — for money
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body

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