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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cell — in biology
  4. face — to confront
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ball — a great time
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ball — a dance
  11. last — to go on
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cell — a phone
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mouse — the animal

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