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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: lean · temple · last · chest · current · spring · straw · rush

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. last — final
  4. chest — of your body
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. current — happening now
  7. last — to go on
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rush — hurry
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. last — finally
  12. lean — thin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spring — a coil
  15. lean — to bend
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. spring — of water
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. spring — the season
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. chest — a box

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