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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. key — the most important part
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. ground — a position
  7. foot — a measure
  8. ground — crushed
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. squash — the sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. hand — help
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. key — in music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. squash — to crush
  21. key — for a lock
  22. ground — the earth
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. bear — the animal

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