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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. root — the cause
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bulb — for light
  11. root — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kid — child
  17. chest — of your body
  18. root — of a word
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bulb — for light
  24. temple — side of the head

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