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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. current — happening now
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. hand — help
  13. current — of water
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. current — electric
  20. last — to go on
  21. bark — to shout
  22. hand — in cards
  23. track — a path
  24. bay — a horse colour

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