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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. ball — a dance
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. rash — hasty
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. hand — help
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. hand — in cards
  24. roll — on a roll

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