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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: fork · file · club · chest · swing · temple · current · march

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. club — for golf
  3. chest — of your body
  4. club — for dancing
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — in a road
  14. current — happening now
  15. swing — to play on
  16. current — electric
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. march — music
  20. current — of water
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. swing — music
  23. file — a document
  24. club — a group

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