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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: temple · charge · clip · chest · rash · bank · row · snap

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. charge — in control
  6. clip — to cut
  7. charge — a price
  8. rash — a series
  9. charge — electricity
  10. bank — for money
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bank — for money
  13. clip — a video
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. snap — to click
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bank — of a river
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chest — a box
  24. row — a quarrel

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