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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. field — a subject
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chip — to eat
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mate — a partner
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. land — a country
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. land — ground
  13. race — humankind
  14. chip — for betting
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — an injury
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. land — to come down
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. field — farmland
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wound — an injury

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