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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: temple · cold · lie · nail · swing · jam · stem · scale

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. swing — in golf
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. swing — to play on
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. swing — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. scale — size or range
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. stem — to come from
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. lie — to recline

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