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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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 — side of the head
  3. firm — steady
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wake — a trail
  11. firm — a company
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — decided
  16. spring — the season
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — not warm
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wax — to grow

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