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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. land — ground
  5. last — finally
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. last — final
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — to go on
  11. shower — to wash
  12. dip — to sink
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. shower — rain
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. land — a country
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. lash — to lash out

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