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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rest — a break
  5. cue — a hint
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. game — wild animals
  9. content — the amount
  10. game — a match
  11. cue — a signal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. mine — for digging
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. pass — a permit
  20. content — happy
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cue — for pool
  24. temple — side of the head

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