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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. can — a tin
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. drill — the tool
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. hand — in cards
  17. root — of a word
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. root — the cause
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. drill — a practice
  22. can — a tin
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. drill — army training

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