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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: mate · temple · stock · rock · tear · straw · chair · hide

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rock — a stone
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mate — to breed
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. rock — music
  19. stock — goods
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. tear — to rip
  24. straw — dry grass

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