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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · temple · chest · mine · leaves · foot · kick · shower

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. chest — of your body
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. kick — in football
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chest — a box
  24. temple — side of the head

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