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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — a position
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. ground — crushed
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. drill — the tool
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. drill — army training
  24. wax — in the ear

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