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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. last — final
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mark — a grade
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. last — to go on
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. prune — to trim
  17. swing — music
  18. mark — a trace
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. swing — in golf
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — clever

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