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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. rest — what's left
  4. drill — the tool
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. rest — what's left
  15. scale — in music
  16. drill — army training
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — a match
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — a break
  24. capital — a city

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