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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: rush · chair · rest · temple · bat · bank · mark · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rest — a break
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bank — of a river
  14. squash — to crush
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. rush — hurry
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rest — what's left
  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