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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. scale — in music
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. fine — all right
  8. pound — a weight
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. ground — the earth
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. ground — crushed
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ground — a position

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