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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cap — a hat
  3. row — to paddle
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cap — of ice
  10. root — of a word
  11. cap — a lid
  12. root — of a plant
  13. sharp — clever
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. game — wild animals
  18. row — a line
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. root — the cause
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. game — a match

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