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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · fall · drill · temple · jam · straw

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rock — music
  5. drill — army training
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fall — to drop
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rock — a stone
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. jam — in traffic

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