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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. net — after costs
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. net — in sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. game — a match
  10. rash — hasty
  11. net — for catching
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. drill — army training
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rash — a series
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bat — the animal
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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