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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. scale — size or range
  3. content — the amount
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. content — happy
  6. net — for catching
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. cold — not warm
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. net — after costs
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. scale — in music
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. deal — to handle
  23. net — in sport
  24. deal — an agreement

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