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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bore — to drill
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kid — to tease
  10. spell — magic
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. root — the cause
  13. march — music
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. root — of a word
  17. spell — letters
  18. net — in sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. march — the month
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. march — the month
  24. root — of a plant

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