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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: temple · rest · present · tube · bat · plane · swing · wind

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. tube — the underground
  4. swing — in golf
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tube — a container
  8. rest — what's left
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. present — the time now
  24. swing — to play on

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