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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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 — a place of worship
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bore — to tire
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rest — a break
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. ground — a position
  16. mate — a friend
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. ground — crushed
  20. lean — thin
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. ground — the earth
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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