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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: leaves · arm · band · chair · squash · snap · bore · temple

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. squash — the sport
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bore — to tire
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. band — a music group
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. band — a ring
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bore — to drill
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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