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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 120 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 · mate · prune · chest · row · mark · face · wave

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mate — to breed
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mark — a grade
  6. face — part of the head
  7. prune — to trim
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. mark — a trace
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. chest — a box
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mate — a friend
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. row — a line

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