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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. chip — for betting
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — in biology
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. file — a tool
  11. cell — a phone
  12. toast — bread
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chip — to eat
  17. perch — the fish
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. perch — for a bird

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