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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: temple · fall · snap · arm · straw · cap · tear · mate

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fall — the season
  3. snap — to click
  4. mate — a friend
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. mate — a partner
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cap — of ice

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