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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. last — finally
  4. cold — an illness
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. last — to go on
  11. staff — employees
  12. court — for sport
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — to sink
  16. court — of a king
  17. cold — not warm
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. staff — a stick
  20. court — of law
  21. last — final
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. root — the cause

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