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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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Word bank
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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: row · land · lie · shower · sharp · content · temple · bay

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. row — to paddle
  3. content — the amount
  4. shower — to wash
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. land — to come down
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. row — a line
  13. content — happy
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. shower — rain
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. lie — to recline
  19. sharp — clever
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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