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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. drill — the tool
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — of water
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. drill — army training
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. chest — of your body
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spring — the season
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rest — a break
  21. chest — a box
  22. drill — a practice
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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