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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 120 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: ruler · present · chest · bat · row · kick · temple · nail

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. present — the time now
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — the animal
  5. row — a line
  6. chest — a box
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. present — there
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. present — a gift
  20. row — to paddle
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kick — in football
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. nail — for a hammer

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