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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mate — a friend
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mate — a partner
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rash — a series
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — to bend
  17. ball — a dance
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. lean — thin
  22. chair — a leader
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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