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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. file — a tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. shower — to wash
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. can — to be able to
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. can — a tin
  15. kid — child
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. date — the fruit
  20. foot — a measure
  21. shower — rain
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. can — a tin
  24. nail — for a hammer

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