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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: chest · rest · fall · temple · straw · plane · hand · last

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. plane — a tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chest — a box
  8. last — final
  9. chest — of your body
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rest — a break
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. last — finally
  17. rest — what's left
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. chest — of your body
  20. last — to go on
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rest — what's left

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