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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. drill — a practice
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. drill — the tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. tear — to rip
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cap — a lid
  16. drill — army training
  17. tear — from crying
  18. temple — a place of worship

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