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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. current — happening now
  3. kid — child
  4. current — electric
  5. ball — a dance
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cell — in biology
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cell — a phone
  10. current — of water
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. last — final
  21. hand — in cards
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — help
  24. temple — a place of worship

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