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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. tube — the underground
  3. file — a document
  4. tube — a container
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. firm — a company
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. land — to come down
  9. firm — steady
  10. file — a tool
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bore — to drill
  14. kid — to tease
  15. firm — decided
  16. land — a country
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. file — a line of people
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. land — ground
  24. deal — to handle

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