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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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 — a place of worship
  2. file — a tool
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. court — of a king
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. staff — employees
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — the season
  11. plane — a tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. file — a document
  14. spring — of water
  15. staff — a stick
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. court — of law
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a line of people
  23. plane — in geometry
  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