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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — an illness
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bank — for money
  6. key — in music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bank — for money
  12. key — for a lock
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cold — not warm
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bank — of a river
  19. foot — a measure
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. content — the amount
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. key — the most important part
  24. content — happy

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