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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. game — a match
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ball — a great time
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rash — a series
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fine — all right
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. ball — a dance
  22. rest — what's left
  23. shower — rain
  24. rest — a break

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