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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. root — the cause
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. root — of a word
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. present — the time now
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fall — the season
  21. file — a document
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. present — there
  24. craft — boats

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