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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pound — a weight
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. club — for dancing
  8. face — to confront
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. club — a group
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. plane — a tool
  18. clip — a video
  19. club — for golf
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bear — the animal
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cell — in a prison

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