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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 120 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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. snap — to click
  4. last — finally
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. track — a song
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. file — a tool
  9. last — final
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. track — to keep track
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. track — a path
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. last — to go on

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