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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. scale — size or range
  5. tube — a container
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — finally
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. tear — to rip
  12. field — for sport
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tube — the underground
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. last — final
  24. temple — a place of worship

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