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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: mine · bat · lean · mouse · temple · firm · spring · last

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. firm — a company
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. last — final
  7. lean — to bend
  8. spring — of water
  9. firm — decided
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. firm — steady
  13. spring — the season
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. last — finally
  16. lean — thin
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spring — a coil
  23. last — to go on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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