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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: foot · swing · temple · rest · snap · season · nail · mine

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. snap — to click
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rest — a break
  6. season — in sport
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. swing — music
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. rest — what's left
  17. swing — in golf
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. rest — what's left
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. season — of the year

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