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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. craft — a skill
  9. prune — to trim
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — boats
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mark — a trace
  18. degree — from a university
  19. squash — the sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. chest — a box
  24. pass — to spend time

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