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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. mine — for digging
  8. scale — in music
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lean — to bend
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. pass — a permit

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