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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. prune — to trim
  4. snap — to click
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. spring — of water
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — a coil
  21. prune — to trim
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. spring — the season

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