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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: calf · chest · temple · cold · wave · key · kid · bass

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — child
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chest — a box
  8. key — the most important part
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bass — low music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. key — in music
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bass — the fish
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bass — the instrument

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