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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 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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. arm — a part of something
  4. cap — of ice
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cap — a lid
  8. roll — a cake
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. drill — a practice
  15. snap — to click
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. roll — a list
  18. drill — army training

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