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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. hand — help
  3. bound — certain
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — obliged
  6. hand — in cards
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. tear — from crying
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wax — to grow
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. current — of water
  24. wax — for sculpting

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