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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — an illness
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. vault — a safe
  14. content — happy
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — final
  24. game — a match

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