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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. ground — crushed
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. shower — rain
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. snap — to click
  11. hand — in cards
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rush — hurry
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. ground — the earth
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — to wash

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