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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bass — the fish
  6. hand — help
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. kick — in football
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. hand — in cards
  15. net — in sport
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pit — in a race
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. last — final
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bass — low 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