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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lie — to recline
  4. drill — the tool
  5. net — in sport
  6. ground — a position
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. key — in music
  10. field — a subject
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bark — to shout
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. drill — army training
  15. key — for a lock
  16. drill — a practice
  17. ground — crushed
  18. net — after costs
  19. key — the most important part
  20. net — for catching
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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