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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. content — happy
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. spell — magic
  8. rest — what's left
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. land — ground
  11. staff — a stick
  12. spell — letters
  13. land — to come down
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. rest — what's left
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. firm — decided
  18. content — the amount
  19. rest — a break
  20. staff — employees
  21. land — a country
  22. staff — employees
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spell — a short time

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