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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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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: present · land · chest · lean · sharp · temple · wake · tear

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. present — there
  3. lean — thin
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. tear — to rip
  11. present — the time now
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chest — of your body
  14. present — a gift
  15. lean — to bend
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wake — a trail
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. chest — a box
  21. land — to come down
  22. sharp — clever
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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