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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: temple · foot · straw · branch · squash · cap · rock · chest

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cap — a lid
  5. foot — a measure
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rock — music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cap — of ice
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. branch — a division
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rock — a stone
  19. chest — a box
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cap — a hat
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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