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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. game — wild animals
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. land — to come down
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. prune — to trim
  8. file — a document
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. prune — to trim
  11. dip — to sink
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. game — a match
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. file — a line of people
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. land — a country
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. land — ground
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. dip — a sauce

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