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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mark — a grade
  5. game — wild animals
  6. last — to go on
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. face — to point toward
  9. shower — to wash
  10. hand — help
  11. face — to confront
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mark — a trace
  14. face — part of the head
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chest — of your body
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. chest — a box
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. last — final
  23. game — a match
  24. last — finally

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