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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. pop — music
  11. ground — a position
  12. deal — to handle
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — to protest
  15. prune — to trim
  16. object — an aim
  17. pop — to visit
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pop — soda
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. prune — to trim

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