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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rock — a stone
  10. content — the amount
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rock — music
  14. tube — a container
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — child
  17. content — happy
  18. tube — in a tire

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