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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: squash · temple · bulb · vault · bat · capital · chest · nail

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bat — the animal
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. capital — a city
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bulb — for light
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bulb — for light
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. chest — a box
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. capital — money
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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