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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. root — of a word
  10. foot — a measure
  11. spring — the season
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. root — of a plant
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. staff — a stick
  19. root — the cause
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. season — in sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. foot — part of the body

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