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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — finally
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. deal — to handle
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. scale — size or range
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chest — a box
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. scale — in music
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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