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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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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: chest · temple · hand · swing · ruler · bat · bank · kick

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bank — of a river
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bank — for money
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chest — a box
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chest — of your body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bank — for money
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kick — in football
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bat — the animal

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