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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — farmland
  6. shower — rain
  7. stand — to bear
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. field — for sport
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. rule — a law
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — government
  23. racket — for tennis
  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