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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. face — part of the head
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mate — a partner
  17. face — to confront
  18. kick — in football
  19. chest — of your body
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. face — to point toward
  24. mate — a friend

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