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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stand — to bear
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spell — letters
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fine — all right
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fine — high quality
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cabinet — ministers

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