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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. root — of a plant
  7. file — a document
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pop — soda
  10. root — the cause
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. shower — rain
  13. pop — to visit
  14. game — a match
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a line of people
  17. lie — to recline
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. root — of a word
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pop — music
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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