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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cell — a phone
  3. band — a ring
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. face — part of the head
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. face — to point toward
  10. ground — a position
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lie — to recline
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. face — to confront
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cell — in biology
  21. band — a music group
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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