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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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 — to go on
  3. land — ground
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. drill — a practice
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cue — a hint
  9. land — to come down
  10. key — the most important part
  11. land — a country
  12. last — finally
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. key — in music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. key — for a lock
  23. last — final
  24. drill — army training

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