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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. shower — rain
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. roll — a cake
  14. perch — the fish
  15. roll — a list
  16. rest — what's left
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. temple — a place of worship

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