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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. ground — a position
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. last — to go on
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. saw — the tool
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bass — low music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wax — to grow
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. ground — crushed
  20. last — final
  21. ground — the earth
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. last — finally

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