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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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. bowl — a dish
  4. cue — for pool
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. mine — for digging
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spring — the season
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cue — a hint
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cap — a hat
  23. spring — of water
  24. cap — a lid

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