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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spell — a short time
  3. bore — to tire
  4. spell — letters
  5. spring — a coil
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rest — a break
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. spell — magic

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