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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chest — a box
  7. present — the time now
  8. drill — army training
  9. tube — a container
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. root — of a word
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wake — a trail
  18. root — the cause
  19. present — a gift
  20. root — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chest — of your body

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