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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rest — what's left
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rest — what's left
  7. last — to go on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. vault — a safe
  12. last — final
  13. rest — a break
  14. root — of a plant
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cold — an illness
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cold — not warm
  22. last — finally
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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