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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mug — to rob
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. squash — the sport
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chest — a box
  10. mug — a face
  11. ball — a dance
  12. kid — child
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. chest — of your body
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mug — a cup
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — the Cold War

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