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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. shower — to wash
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. mate — to breed
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bat — the animal
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. shower — rain
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mate — a friend
  17. spring — a coil
  18. lean — thin
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. snap — to click

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