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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. court — for sport
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. present — a gift
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. face — to confront
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bat — the animal
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. face — part of the head
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. sharp — clever
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. face — to point toward
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. land — a country
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. land — ground
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. land — to come down

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