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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bat — the animal
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. shower — rain
  9. current — of water
  10. shower — to wash
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. current — happening now
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stand — to bear
  23. current — electric
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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