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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stand — to bear
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wake — a trail
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. file — a tool
  12. key — in music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — for a lock
  18. row — a line
  19. game — a match
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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