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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. drill — a practice
  4. lean — thin
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. drill — army training
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. lean — to bend
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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