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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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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: club · straw · temple · bass · lean · vault · mouse · saw

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bass — low music
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. lean — thin
  15. saw — the tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. club — a group
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bass — the fish
  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