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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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. scale — for weighing
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — in biology
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. key — in music
  12. scale — in music
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lie — to recline
  18. scale — size or range
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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