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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: chest · swing · rest · kick · craft · mine

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. craft — boats
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — a skill
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chest — a box
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — in football

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