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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mug — to rob
  3. tube — the underground
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. craft — boats
  6. court — of a king
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. court — of law
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — a cup
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mug — a face
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. tube — a container
  21. sharp — clever
  22. craft — a skill
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cold — not warm

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