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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. prune — to trim
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chest — of your body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. band — a music group
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. face — to confront
  14. band — a ring
  15. face — part of the head
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. chest — a box
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. chest — of your body

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