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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. hand — help
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — to wash
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. stem — to come from
  24. court — for sport

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