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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. spring — of water
  4. row — to paddle
  5. face — to confront
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. row — a line
  10. face — to point toward
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. face — part of the head
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spring — the season
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wax — to grow
  22. can — a tin
  23. row — a quarrel
  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