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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cell — a phone
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. band — a music group
  6. staff — a stick
  7. hand — help
  8. staff — employees
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cell — in biology
  11. staff — employees
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chip — for betting
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. band — a ring
  24. chip — to eat

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