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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. tear — from crying
  3. file — a tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. file — a line of people
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. prune — to trim
  12. game — wild animals
  13. last — finally
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cell — a phone
  19. file — a document
  20. last — final
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — a match
  24. last — to go on

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