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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lean — to bend
  3. prune — to trim
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. prune — to trim
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. vault — a safe
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pound — a weight
  15. lean — thin
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. shower — to wash
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. drill — a practice
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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