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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chest — a box
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — all right
  20. cell — in biology
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fine — a penalty
  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