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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lie — to recline
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. present — a gift
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. band — a ring
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. chest — a box
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. present — there
  18. band — a music group
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. present — the time now
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. plane — a tool
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — an eyelash

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