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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — for digging
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. file — a document
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spell — letters
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bulb — for light
  19. rule — a law
  20. spell — magic
  21. rule — government
  22. spell — a short time
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bulb — for light

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