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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 was this ________________ built?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. drill — a practice
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. court — of a king
  7. kid — child
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bulb — for light
  10. prune — to trim
  11. court — of law
  12. bulb — for light
  13. court — for sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. drill — army training
  17. chest — of your body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. drill — the tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — of a plant

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