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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. present — a gift
  3. cap — of ice
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rush — hurry
  6. cap — a hat
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — a lid
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. squash — to crush
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — humankind
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. present — there
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. last — finally
  22. present — the time now
  23. wind — moving air
  24. squash — the sport

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