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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for golf
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. ground — the earth
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. ground — a position
  9. club — a group
  10. rock — a stone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rash — hasty
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rock — music
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. club — for dancing
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rash — a series
  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