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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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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: lie · snap · mine · chest · temple · net · hide · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chest — of your body
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. snap — to click
  7. swing — in golf
  8. chest — of your body
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. net — in sport
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. lie — to recline
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chest — a box

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