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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lean — thin
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mark — a trace
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a ring
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. lean — to bend
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rash — a series
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. band — a music group
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mark — a grade
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. rash — hasty

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