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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: tear · scale · chair · bat · temple · chest · swing · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. tear — from crying
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chest — a box
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ground — crushed
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. scale — size or range
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. chair — a leader
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ground — a position
  24. scale — in music

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