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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. degree — an amount
  5. spring — the season
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ground — the earth
  9. key — for a lock
  10. ground — a position
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — in a race
  15. key — in music
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rash — a series
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — of water
  20. ground — crushed
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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