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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kid — child
  5. lean — thin
  6. staff — a stick
  7. degree — temperature
  8. lean — to bend
  9. staff — employees
  10. object — a thing
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. saw — the tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. object — to protest
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. degree — an amount
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. kid — to tease
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. saw — the tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. object — an aim
  24. lean — to rest against

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