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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. prune — to trim
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — to trim
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. roll — a cake
  16. cold — not warm
  17. dip — to sink
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. date — on the calendar

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