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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 · chair · mouse · sharp · bass · tear · kick

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. fall — the season
  8. bass — low music
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bass — the fish
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. sharp — clever

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