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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 looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wound — an injury
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cue — a signal
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bulb — for light
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bulb — for light
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cold — an illness
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. mark — a grade

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