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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rock — music
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. tear — from crying
  22. root — of a word
  23. cold — not warm
  24. root — the cause

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