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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pit — a hole
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. land — to come down
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pit — in a race
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. land — ground
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. capital — money
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. capital — a city
  16. kick — in football
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. plane — a tool
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. land — a country
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wax — to grow

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