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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. root — of a word
  3. file — a tool
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — finally
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. last — to go on
  10. net — in sport
  11. rest — a break
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. root — of a plant
  14. last — final
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. file — a line of people
  17. net — for catching
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. file — a document
  20. net — after costs
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. root — the cause
  23. rest — what's left
  24. temple — a place of worship

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