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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: straw · pit · hand · snap · swing · temple · foot · cell

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cell — a phone
  5. hand — in cards
  6. swing — in golf
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. foot — a measure
  9. pit — a hole
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. snap — to click
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. swing — music
  18. pit — in a race
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cell — in biology

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