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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 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. firm — steady
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — an illness
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. rule — a law
  9. fine — all right
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. firm — decided
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rule — government
  15. firm — a company
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fine — a penalty

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