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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — of your body
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. staff — a stick
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fork — in a road
  13. prune — to trim
  14. staff — employees
  15. key — the most important part
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. key — in music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. staff — employees
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. chest — a box
  24. spell — a short time

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