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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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468
Word bank
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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. charge — electricity
  4. root — the cause
  5. charge — a price
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. file — a document
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. file — a tool
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. charge — in control
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tube — the underground
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a line of people
  17. spring — the season
  18. tube — a container
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. root — of a word
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. hand — in cards

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