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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. roll — a cake
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. band — a music group
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. kid — child
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. hand — help
  19. roll — a list
  20. wake — a trail
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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