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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bound — tied together
  6. tear — from crying
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fine — all right
  11. tear — to rip
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bound — certain
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cue — a hint
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cue — for pool

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