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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mug — to rob
  3. scale — in music
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rash — hasty
  10. scale — size or range
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. last — finally
  18. ground — a position
  19. rash — a series
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mug — a face
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mug — a cup

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