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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. club — a group
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. kid — child
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. club — for golf
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bulb — for light
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. mine — for digging
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mine — an explosive

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