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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: temple · fan · kid · bat · saw · key · chest · branch

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. key — in music
  8. saw — the tool
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. chest — of your body
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. saw — the tool
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kid — child
  16. branch — a division
  17. chest — a box
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. key — the most important part
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bat — for baseball

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