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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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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: staff · club · fan · chest · jam · last · temple · spring

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. staff — a stick
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. last — finally
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spring — the season
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chest — a box
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. club — for golf
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — to go on
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. club — a group
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. staff — employees

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