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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — for digging
  3. root — of a plant
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. object — a thing
  7. ground — crushed
  8. root — of a word
  9. scale — in music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wake — a trail
  13. object — an aim
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. object — to protest
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. ground — a position
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. scale — size or range
  21. root — the cause
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ground — the earth

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