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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spell — magic
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spell — letters
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — to protest
  10. spell — a short time
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — moving air

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