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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: swing · hide · cap · wind · field · chip · temple · jam

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — to eat
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chip — for betting
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — a subject
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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