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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. snap — to click
  3. prune — to trim
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. roll — a list
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. plane — a tool
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. charge — in control
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. roll — a cake
  24. tear — to rip

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