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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: bay · wound · temple · tear · dip · rule · roll · pitcher

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. tear — to rip
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rule — government
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — a cake

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