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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rock — a stone
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rock — music
  8. mate — a partner
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. shower — rain
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. shower — to wash
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rock — to move gently

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