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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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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: bass · calf · snap · swing · temple · cap · chest · prune

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bass — the fish
  3. swing — music
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cap — a lid
  8. prune — to trim
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. swing — in golf
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chest — a box
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cap — of ice
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cap — a hat
  24. calf — of the leg

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