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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. last — finally
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. last — to go on
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. fork — in a road
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rest — a break
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rest — what's left
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — a measure
  22. last — final
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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