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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — to go on
  4. object — an aim
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. key — the most important part
  7. object — to protest
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. key — for a lock
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. last — finally
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. key — in music
  21. wake — a trail
  22. last — final
  23. object — a thing
  24. rule — government

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