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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: vault · temple · rash · branch · chest · bear · pitch · kid

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rash — a series
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. chest — a box
  14. branch — a division
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. kid — to tease
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bear — the animal
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pitch — completely
  21. vault — a safe
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kid — child
  24. rash — hasty

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