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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. date — the fruit
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. file — a tool
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. hand — help
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. file — a document
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — a short time

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