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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. shower — rain
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. prune — to trim
  9. deal — to handle
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. wake — a trail
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. ground — a position
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kick — in football
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. wake — before a funeral

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