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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. game — wild animals
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. season — of the year
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. face — to confront
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — in biology
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cell — a phone
  20. season — in sport
  21. face — part of the head
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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