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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. court — of law
  3. kid — child
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. kid — to tease
  14. root — the cause
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. safe — out of danger

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