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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. current — happening now
  7. wake — a trail
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. row — to paddle
  10. current — electric
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rule — a law
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. row — a line
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. current — of water
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. squash — to crush
  24. straw — dry grass

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