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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. club — for golf
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. foot — a measure
  7. club — a group
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rush — hurry
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. tear — to rip
  12. shower — rain
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. club — for dancing
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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