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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — a phone
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stock — shares
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. present — the time now
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stock — goods
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in biology
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bark — to shout
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. present — a gift
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. present — there
  24. dip — to sink

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