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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rest — a break
  4. drill — the tool
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cell — in biology
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — a coil
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — the season
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — what's left
  24. drill — army training

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