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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. swing — in golf
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — music
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — to rob
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — the Cold War

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