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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pass — a permit
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — the tool
  18. temple — side of the head

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