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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 · wound · spell · foot · temple · snap · cabinet · lie

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. snap — to click
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chest — a box
  14. foot — a measure
  15. spell — magic
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. temple — a place of worship

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