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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pop — to visit
  5. key — in music
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pop — soda
  8. snap — to click
  9. last — final
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rock — music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rock — a stone
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mine — for digging
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. last — finally
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. last — to go on
  24. mine — belonging to me

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