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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rash — a series
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. key — in music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. rash — hasty
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. prune — to trim
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — rain
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — to wash
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bat — the animal
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. sharp — clever
  24. prune — the fruit

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