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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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. tear — from crying
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. tear — to rip
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. capital — a city
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. sharp — clever
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — money
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. mouse — the animal

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