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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chest — a box
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mine — for digging
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. root — of a word
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. root — the cause
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. chest — of your body

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