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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cue — for pool
  3. content — happy
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. chest — a box
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. chest — of your body
  21. content — the amount
  22. cue — a hint
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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