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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. degree — temperature
  3. field — for sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lie — to recline
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. field — a subject
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. degree — an amount
  12. snap — to click
  13. last — finally
  14. wax — to grow
  15. field — farmland
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. last — final
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. temple — a place of worship

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