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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. club — for golf
  4. wax — to grow
  5. game — a match
  6. bore — to tire
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. club — for dancing
  15. file — a document
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. club — a group
  18. pound — a weight
  19. file — a tool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. file — a line of people
  24. game — wild animals

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