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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: club · perch · temple · chest · fall · kid · cue · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fall — to drop
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chest — a box
  7. club — for dancing
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fall — to drop
  13. club — for golf
  14. cue — a signal
  15. perch — the fish
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. fall — the season
  18. cue — for pool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — child
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pass — a permit
  24. club — a group

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