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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lie — to recline
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. chest — a box
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. row — a line
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. perch — the fish

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