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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: straw · rock · temple · vault · chest · root · rash · press

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. root — the cause
  4. rash — a series
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. root — of a word
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rock — music
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. root — of a plant
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chest — a box
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. press — to push
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. rash — hasty
  23. vault — a safe
  24. rock — a stone

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