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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. mug — a face
  3. hand — help
  4. vault — a safe
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rush — hurry
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. mug — a cup
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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