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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. spring — a coil
  4. swing — music
  5. ground — the earth
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. kid — to tease
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spring — the season
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. ground — a position
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — of water
  18. kid — child
  19. swing — in golf
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. swing — to play on
  24. temple — a place of worship

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