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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: mine · swing · bore · snap · temple · chest · chip · foot

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chip — to eat
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. swing — music
  6. snap — to click
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. foot — a measure
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chest — a box
  17. bore — to drill
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bore — to tire
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. chip — for betting
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. temple — a place of worship

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