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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. lean — to bend
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. dip — to sink
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. lean — thin
  11. wax — to grow
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — a line
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. snap — to click
  21. bear — the animal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. row — to paddle
  24. prune — to trim

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