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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. ground — crushed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — to bend
  6. land — a country
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — to come down
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chair — a leader
  13. ground — the earth
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. land — ground
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — a position
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lean — thin
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lean — to rest against

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