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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spring — of water
  3. snap — to click
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. tube — a container
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. game — a match
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. lean — thin
  15. game — wild animals
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tube — the underground
  19. kick — in football
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. spring — the season
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. lean — to bend

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