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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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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: lean · kid · swing · temple · foot · ground · rash · tube

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — crushed
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. ground — a position
  9. foot — a measure
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rash — hasty
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ground — the earth
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. swing — music
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. rash — a series

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