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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: shower · cue · root · chest · craft · leaves · swing · temple

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. swing — in golf
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cue — for pool
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. craft — a skill
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cue — a signal
  14. shower — rain
  15. chest — a box
  16. cue — a hint
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — of a word
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. craft — boats
  21. swing — music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. root — the cause
  24. craft — a handicraft

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