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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 · nail · mug · temple · squash · stem · date · wind

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. squash — the sport
  9. date — the fruit
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mug — a cup
  12. chest — a box
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wind — moving air
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mug — a face
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mug — to rob
  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