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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 need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ground — crushed
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ground — a position
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fall — the season
  13. ground — the earth
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. scale — in music

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