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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mug — a cup
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pop — soda
  9. mug — a face
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. chest — a box
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mug — to rob
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pop — music
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. chest — of your body
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stem — to come from
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitch — completely

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