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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. bear — the animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bear — the animal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. saw — the tool
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — in music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. tear — from crying
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. scale — size or range

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