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

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. face — to confront
  4. mine — for digging
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bear — the animal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. snap — to click
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. prune — to trim
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. face — part of the head
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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