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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: tear · pit · face · present · mine · wave · plane · temple

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. tear — from crying
  3. face — to confront
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pit — a hole
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. face — part of the head
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pit — in a race
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — there
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. face — to point toward
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tear — from crying
  19. present — the time now
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. tear — to rip
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. temple — a place of worship

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