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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. track — a path
  3. wake — a trail
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rest — a break
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rest — what's left
  11. track — a song
  12. rest — what's left
  13. track — to keep track
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. degree — from a university
  21. perch — the fish
  22. degree — an amount
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. temple — a place of worship

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