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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: lie · bat · swing · temple · kid · straw · chest · chip

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kid — child
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chip — for betting
  7. swing — to play on
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lie — to recline
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — the animal
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chip — in a computer

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