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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pit — in a race
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pit — a hole
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mark — a grade
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. current — electric
  14. hand — help
  15. current — happening now
  16. last — to go on
  17. current — of water
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mark — a trace

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