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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. foot — a measure
  5. rush — hurry
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. field — farmland
  9. branch — a division
  10. field — for sport
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — to wash
  22. kick — in football
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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