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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. ground — crushed
  4. content — the amount
  5. bank — for money
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — to wash
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. ground — a position
  13. shower — rain
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bank — of a river
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bank — for money
  18. ground — the earth

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