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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 · prune · lean · deal · stock · temple · chest · vault

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. deal — to handle
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. lean — thin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. prune — to trim
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. chest — a box
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stock — shares
  14. lean — to bend
  15. swing — to play on
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. vault — a safe
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. stock — goods
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. swing — music
  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