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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rock — a stone
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spell — letters
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spell — magic
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — a short time
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. band — a ring
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. band — a music group
  23. rock — music
  24. deal — an agreement

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