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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ground — the earth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ground — a position
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. can — a tin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — a box
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. can — to be able to
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mine — belonging to me

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