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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. drill — army training
  4. cue — a hint
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. root — of a word
  9. cold — not warm
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. root — of a plant
  12. spell — magic
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — the cause
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. spell — a short time
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cue — for pool
  24. drill — a practice

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