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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mark — a grade
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. root — of a word
  15. bound — certain
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cold — not warm
  19. perch — the fish
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — obliged

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