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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. file — a line of people
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — for digging
  8. court — of a king
  9. last — final
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. last — to go on
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. court — of law
  18. kick — in football
  19. rest — a break
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. court — for sport
  22. stand — to bear
  23. file — a document
  24. last — finally

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