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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pit — in a race
  3. last — final
  4. rest — a break
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. shower — rain
  10. rest — what's left
  11. face — to confront
  12. last — to go on
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pit — a hole
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — to wash
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — moving air
  22. last — finally
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. temple — a place of worship

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