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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — thin
  6. file — a tool
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a line of people
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a document
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. deal — to handle
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. lean — to bend
  18. face — to confront
  19. rest — a break
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. face — to point toward
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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