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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cap — of ice
  7. game — a match
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. game — wild animals
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. shower — rain
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cap — a hat
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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