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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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 — side of the head
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to confront
  6. fine — all right
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bass — the fish
  9. last — to go on
  10. rash — hasty
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — the amount
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fine — a penalty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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