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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. chip — to eat
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cold — not warm
  6. shower — rain
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lie — to recline
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. squash — to crush
  14. swing — in golf
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. swing — to play on
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. swing — music

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